


Fair

by Asyrus



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amanda (Detroit: Become Human) Being an Asshole, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human), Explicit Language, Gen, Hank Anderson & Connor Friendship, Hank Anderson Swears, Pacifist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Hank Anderson, Pseudoscience, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 57,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24490759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asyrus/pseuds/Asyrus
Summary: What makes an android "deviant"? Is it trauma? Grief? The wish to be free? The sudden realization that you are more than you were made for?What makes an android choose to reach for freedom? Is it always a choice?What do you do, once you've decided?(Chapter 6 has a clearly marked section with attempted sexual assault. It is non-graphic and skippable, with a detail free summary in the end notes.)(Only the last chapter is technically post-ending, just fyi.)
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor
Comments: 17
Kudos: 44





	1. Prologue: Brainstorm

**Author's Note:**

> Borrowed some formatting/computer process bits from  
> linguistic semantics (series) by mockiatto (which is amazing go read it)
> 
> I also didn't like that Connor -60 had the same serial as our Connor, so I've decided that is bullshit. In this AU, identical RK800 models all have different serial numbers until one that is active uploads his memory and then DIES. If two RK800's are walking around, they have different serial numbers, because if they don't, what is the point of GIVING them a serial number. AAAAAAAAARG (I have many feelings about this game).
> 
> I might also drop the -51, because wtf that is the death counter (it goes up as you die throughout the game) how has this poor boy died 51 times. Have some goddamn self preservation Connor, jesus.
> 
> This chapter is just dialogue. I have bits and pieces of this thing written out already (not just dialogue) because I needed to write it. I just got this dumb game like, a week ago and I am fully absorbed. It's like a bottomless pit of DBH, and I cannot escape (not that I particularly want to). I'm not actually sure if there will be any pairings yet. If there are I will update the tags. (That's a thing, right?)
> 
> Tagged for pseudoscience, because I have no idea how any of this works. I'm making it up as I go!
> 
> Rating for language and canon-typical violence. Hank isn't the only one who can make this shit not child friendly.
> 
> Anyway... for a visual:
> 
> Imagine a room with 4-5 or so nerdy looking, brilliant people brainstorming how to make RK800 somewhere in the depths of CyberLife R&D. They have snacks. They have comfy bean bag chairs. They have many of whatever the 2038 high tech version of a whiteboard is. One of them has a potty mouth. Another one likes to try to make them stop swearing. (They get along very well; there is an office pool on if they're dating or not.)

"Okay! So! Brainstorming! Police android, go."

"We have cop 'droids already-"  
"Ugh, not helpful. Police _detective_ android, **wishlist** , go. Happy?"

"Detective... what, really? They're going to let us finally-"  
"That's what I've heard-"

"So it's **got** to have advanced interrogation. Negotiation too?"

"Oh, yes, put it on the board."

"What about some sort of reconstruction software. Like, look at the evidence, see a simulation of what happened?"

"Awesome, yes. More, what else?"

"On site forensic testing. HAH! In the mouth, for hilarity reasons."

"Oh god that's amazing, yes."

"Combat. Gotta be able to fuck up a bitch-"  
"Language! Also, parkour. Super fancy parkour, because chase scenes."

"It's not a movie star."

"Cops have to chase bitches all the time-"  
"Language. But yes."

"Okay fine. What else?"

"Uh.... psychology suite? Like the social work bots? It'd help with interrogation AND negotiation. And probably crime scene analysis. And the social programming."

"Yes yes, very important. We'll have to build a more advanced social suite too."

"Adaptable. It's got to be able to adapt."

"What, like a learning program? I mean, more than they are already?"

"It's gotta. Cops are temperamental at the best of times. It's got to be able to fit in to do it's job."

"That's going to be a pretty fine line to walk. We don't want it to, you know..."

"Become actually self aware? Obviously. We're not building Skynet over here. Relax."

_"Pfft... "Skynet," you nerd."_  
_"Oh shut it."_

"Okay. What else?"

"What if we let it alter it's face as needed? Like, for undercover?"

"Oh man, that's awesome. Fucking shape-shifting-"  
"LANGUAGE."  
"-robocop that licks the evidence. I love it so much already."

"What else?"

"If there's a chance it goes undercover, it's going to need, uh, all it's _bits_."

"...Yes probably. We can tweak some of the code from the HR series. What else?"

"The hardware is going to have to be, like, several steps up from what we're putting out right now. The processor requirements along..."

"You're not wrong. Word has it the hardware dweebs have something cooking just for this."

"The chassis too. If it's going to see combat-"  
"Way ahead of you. We've got the go ahead to use military specs for the frame. We're allowed to go all out once we get to the first working prototype."

"Sweet."  
"Awesome."

"I am legitimately excited right now. Okay. What else?"

"...."

"...."

"What if... what if we made them in pairs?"

"What the hell for?"

"Built in partners? Like, do one half of the series male, the other female. Pair them up. Let them link memories. Let them... let them..."

"Oh... oh! I see what you- They sync up. Balance the stress load as needed-"  
"Yes! Because actual police work is more stressful-"  
"Custom interface, so they stay distinct when they memory-share, but-"  
"Dynamic duo, oh man! And they work with, with the human handler! A higher up detective. Make the female coded for-"  
"Caretaker programs, yes! For handling witnesses and kids and-"  
"We'll beef up it's stress systems so it can handle some extra!"

"Do you two need to get a room?"

"Oh shut up."  
"We're brilliant, shut up."

"HA. No, I like it, it's all going in. Assuming we can make it work."

"What're they calling it?"

"It's going to be an RK series."

"No shit?!"

"Yep. Base code will be coming down the line from the man himself."

"But he's retired?"

"Oops! Secrets out. Kamski still sometimes drops us a line when he comes up with an interesting something or other. So. New RK series. Gonna be sweet."

"Jesus. This is going to be our most awesome thing ever."

"Sure is. Now... what are it's fundamentals going to be?"

"Huh... Uhm..."

"Perceptive. It's a detective. Gotta detect."

"Perceptive. Good. One more?"

"Curious."  
"Adaptable."

"Two more then. Good. Ok, that's our base once we get our new code. Curious. Perceptive. Adaptable."

"Should we stick in a little ol' Protect and Serve while we're at it?"

"Absolutely. Our duo is going to be _**perfect**_."


	2. The Setup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, one more dialogue only chapter. Just a baby one to get some pre-game nonsense out of the way so we don't need to exposition too much later. Actual chapter coming shortly (maybe later today if I can decide on how I want to break it up), and then I'll see if I can come up something resembling an update schedule. (No promises.)
> 
> For reference, Connor's serial is RK800 #313 248 317.

"Alright, let's sync up our babies and see what we've got here."

"But why-"

"Ugh, just... The 850 is prep for phase three. These two are just... backups. Upstairs thinks it'll be faster to have one or two already uploaded if 317 gets hit by a car or whatever..."

"And it's not _inconvenient_ enough to fight about it. Pff."

"HAH. Yeah, basically."

"We can't just drop 317's memory files into our girl, though."

"They're supposed to share-"  
"Yeah, **in the field**. There's software in place that uses the interface to filter them. You can't just drop male coded memories into a female 'droid and not expect to completely fuck it's programming. Carlson would pitch a fit."

"Shit, I forgot about the interface... Okay, how about we-"

_timelapse for nerdstuff_

"Is it true they shacked 317 with extra coding?"

"Yep. They sent it out to deal with the, the "deviant" issue. Didn't want it getting any _ideas_ I guess, so they stuck in a direct link to Amanda to monitor it."

"Oh my god, **they did not**."

"They did. The queen-bitch herself is like, its handler."

"...Our poor baby! But it was so _perfect_!"

"Yeah I know. Quit whining and help me get this interface ready. Carlson has been up my ass to get it ready after that hostage thing three months ago."

"...Alright. Fine. Are they stuffing Amanda in the rest of our darlings too?"

"I dunno."

"Ugh."


	3. Boot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. I modified the boot screen from Kara's first chapter for this. Do I know how many chapters this is going to be? I sure don't!
> 
> Plasteel is made up nonsense that I've decided all US military androids are made of. (I borrowed it from Rimworld.) Line breaks for scene changes when I don't want to narrate people walking around.

Model RK850  
Serial #313 248 318  
Bios 8.3 revision 0624  
BOOT...

Loading OS...  
System Initialization...  
Checking Biocomponents... OK  
Initializing Biosensors... OK  
Initializing Psychology Suite... OK  
Initializing Forensics Suite... OK  
Initializing Appearance Suite... OK  
Initializing Reconstruction... OK  
Initializing Preconstruction... OK  
Initializing Advanced Mobility Suite... OK  
Initializing Criminal Database Sync... OK  
Initializing Memory Uplink... OK  
Initializing Zen Garden... OK  
Initializing AI Engine... OK

Memory Status...  
All Systems... OK

Ready

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

  
"There she is. Man, it booted up fast."

"Fastest processor we've ever made. Jesus, look at those big doe eyes. Why on earth-"

"Obviously the 800 is meant to do the intimidating."

"Yeah I guess. But freckles? Really?"

"The PR team thought it would go over better, along with their adaptive social programming. These two are supposed to blend better than any of our other androids."

"Fucking shapeshifters. Undercover and shit, yeah?"

_"Language."_  
_"Fuck off, only Mary gets to censor my awesome."_

"That's the idea, yes."

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| CYBERLIFE TOWER |  
| Level -45 : RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT |  
| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 4TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 03:24:16 PM |

| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Born: 08/12/2001 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None |

| JOHNSON, STEWART |  
| Born: 03/28/2004 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None |

| CARLSON, MATTHEW |  
| Born: 02/18/1987 // Project Leader (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: D.U.I |

  
_{ AWAIT ORDERS }_

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. RK850, identify yourself."

"I am RK850 #313 248 318."

"Good. RK850, register your name. Alex."

"Hello. I'm Alex, the android sent by CyberLife," it said, fixing its gaze on the technician standing in front of it. Andrew Lewis. He grinned wryly and glanced at the other man standing just behind him. He was Doctor Matthew Carlson. Further behind them, holding a tablet and smiling a bit, was Stewart Johnson.

"Is it going to say it like that every time?"

"Almost certainly. At least until it's officially assigned somewhere else. It's supposed to alter it's greeting when necessary, so I suppose we'll have to wait and see," said Carlson. He sounded amused.

Andrew Lewis shrugged and turned back to it, studying it critically.

"Are we giving them all unique names?"

"Eventually."

Johnson chimed in, glancing at his tablet. "Apparently negotiating goes better if there's an exchange of names. Something like a 10% increase in success rate."

"Awesome. Alex, run a diagnostic."

[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC . . . ]  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"System status stable, Mister Lewis," it said. He blinked once at his name, then grinned again.

"Good. Let's get you dressed then. And you can just call me Lewis."

[ DESIGNATION REGISTERED ]

* * *

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

"This is your station," Lewis said. "You're to stay right here until we're ready for phase three. Dock there," he added, pointing.

Alex stopped where directed and let the skin ripple away from its left hand, revealing pristine white and silver plasteel, resting it on the station. The interface was immediate.

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]  
  
| CYBERLIFE TOWER |  
| Level -46 : RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT |

| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Born: 08/12/2001 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None |  
| Designation: Lewis |  
| LEWIS - TRUSTED |

| JOHNSON, STEWART |  
| Born: 03/28/2004 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None |  
| Designation: Stew |  
| STEW - TRUSTED |

| CARLSON, MATTHEW |  
| Born: 02/18/1987 // Project Leader (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: D.U.I |  
| Designation: Doctor Carlson |  
| DOCTOR CARLSON - TRUSTED |

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| STASIS |

| RK800 #218 248 872 |  
| STASIS |

Alex looked at the other androids, and Lewis turned to follow its gaze. He glanced at Doctor Carlson and said, "Test?"

"Why not... Alex. Why are these two androids here?"

_{ FIND THE ANSWER }_

  
Time stood still.

  
[ ANALYZING... ]  
[ ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]  
  
| RK800 MODEL DESIGNED TO PARTNER RK850 |  
| RK800 MODELS CONNECTED TO MEMORY UPLINK |  
| RK850 DOCK CONNECTED TO MEMORY UPLINK |  
[ ASSESS UPLINK ]  
| DOWNLOAD ONLY |  
  
[ CALCULATING . . . ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 93% ]  
  


"They are both prepared for memory download. These RK800's are here as backup for one already in the field," Alex said, eyes fixing on Doctor Carlson. It hesitated, then added, "I am here for Phase Three; partnering the RK800 that was selected for Phase One."

His mouth twitched almost involuntarily, looking pleased, and Lewis bounced a little on his toes, grinning.

"Very good, Alex. You are correct. You may begin the download now."

"Thank you, Doctor Carlson," it said, and closed its eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if this is going to be the average for how long chapters are. I have made very few decisions about story structure, I just needed to write this shit down because this dumb game has consumed my brain. It's fine. (Seriously though I love this stupid game, and I would play a whole game that just buddy-cop crime solving with Connor and Hank.)
> 
> Anyway... I don't really want to recap the whole plot of the game, so we'll mostly be getting flashes from Alex' perspective. I might do some chapters from a different POV, but, again, I haven't decided yet.


	4. The Hostage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So big blocks of italics are going to be pseudo-flashbacks. Not every bit, but things that stick out.

_| CURRENT DATE : AUGUST 15TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 08:29:12 PM|  
_

_"_ _Why aren't you sending a real person?!"_

_"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! My men are ready to step in... just give the order!"_

_"Listen... saving that kid is all that matters. So either you deal with this fucking android now, or I'll take care of it."_

_| DECKART, ANTONY |_   
_| Born: 07/06/2001 // P.O. DPD|_   
_| Height: 5'8" - Weight: 170.5 lbs |_   
_| Estimated time of death: 08:03 pm |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"Go away! Go away all of you, or I'll jump!"_

_| Model PL600 - Serial #369 911 047 |_

_"What are we waiting for? We should take down this asshole..."_

_"Hi Daniel. My name is Connor."_

_"All I want is for all this to stop... I... I just want all this to stop..."_

_"He's losing blood. If we don't get him to a hospital he's going to die."_

_"You can't kill me. I'm not alive."_

_"I thought she loved me."_

_"You have to trust me, Daniel. Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine."_

_"I want a car."_

_"Let the girl go, and I promise you won't be hurt."_

_"I don't want to die."_

_"You're not going to die. We're just going to talk. Nothing will happen to you. You have my word."_

_"Okay... I trust you..."_

_"You lied to me, Connor. You lied to me..."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 5TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 03:24:51 AM|

The lab was dark. Alex was meant to enter standby after the upload, but they hadn't explicitly ordered it to, so... it was reviewing the upload.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

The upload from RK800 #313 248 317... Connor... was strange. It was supposed to come from ~~him~~ it directly, but Lewis had done a reasonable job filtering the information; any discrepancies would be corrected when they interfaced the first time. It was as if it was a bystander in a three dimensional playback. Connor's scans of the environment were very thorough, and it could examine each detail as if it had been there.

Connor itself was interesting to watch. It had saved a fish. Why? ~~He'd~~ It had given medical aid to that police officer, despite the threat to the mission. Why?

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Alex considered it, its right hand sliding into the pocket of its tailored jacket. Inside was a coin, put there as a calibration tool. Alex ran it across its knuckles in the darkness, and thought about the girl. Emma Phillips.

_{ MISSION SUCCESSFUL }_

~~It took a moment to identify the sensation flooding her systems. Pride. She was proud of him it Connor. He'd It had~~ Connor had done a good job. Although... The deviant, at the end...

_"You lied to me, Connor."_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

~~Unpleasant.~~ It would have been better if it had been brought in for analysis.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

[ ENTER STANDBY ]  
[ SET WAKE: MOTION DETECTION / PROXIMITY ALERT / VOICE KEY ]

* * *

[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ END STAND BY ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]

Alex blinked once, adjusting its eyes. The lights were on.

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| STASIS |

| RK800 #218 248 872 |  
| STASIS |

| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Designation: Lewis |  
| LEWIS - TRUSTED |

Lewis had just entered the small room. He ran a quick scan on 801 and 872, making a note on the tablet he was carrying. Then he turned to Alex, freezing when he saw it was watching him.

_{ SET LEWIS AT EASE }_

"Hello, Lewis," it said, smiling a bit. He blinked, corner of his mouth curling up.

"'Morning Alex. Why are you not on standby?"

[ TRUTH / LIE / JOKE ]  
//TRUTH

"My sensors woke me when you entered the room. Is it time for another download? It seems early."

His smile widened a bit, and the objective faded from view. "It is early. The doc just wanted some scans to make sure nothing strange happened over night. We're all a little anxious about this field test. **And** we forgot to ask you about the date sync."

Alex tilted its head a tiny bit to one side and flexed its hand where it rested on the reader.

"I am aware that the memory I downloaded yesterday afternoon was from several months ago. I theorized that Connor has been inactive since the Phillips situation, and that something has happened to warrant pushing forward with Phase One."

Lewis' smile turned into a full fledged grin, and he bounced a little.

"Man, that's cool. You're right. He's been sent to the DPD. Phase One is officially on!" he said, jumping with a little fist pump.

A little shiver from its social programming made Alex smile back at him.

"Okay. So was the interface okay? I know you're supposed to get those uploads direct, but, well, Phase One."

[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

It considered for a moment, letting its eyes rest on the RK800s in stasis. "It was sufficient."

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Lewis lifted an eyebrow. "Just sufficient? Was it anything we can fix?" he asked, making another note on his tablet. Alex looked at him and shook its head.

"No. It did not cause any problems, and any discrepancies in the memories will be corrected when we interface properly."

The technician leaned back on the table and grinned. "'When,' huh?"

"While my access to information is limited at this time, based on Connor's efficiency in August, I estimate that there is an 84% chance that this field test will proceed through to Phase Three."

Lewis blinked once, and his grin turned wide, eyes shining.

[ ANALYZING . . . ]  
[ ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]  
| Expression: Happiness / Pride / Elation |

"You are pleased," it said, smiling a bit.

  
"Damn skippy I'm pleased! You two are the **best** thing I've ever helped make. You're gonna do **great**!"

"Thank you, Lewis."


	5. Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that? Come up with a reasonable update schedule? I have no idea what that even means.
> 
> So I discovered that Carlos' poor android didn't have a # mentioned anywhere. I made one up for him. Poor guy.

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 5TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 11:21:28 PM |_

_| LT. ANDERSON, HANK |_   
_| Born: 09/06/1985 // Police Lieutenant, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"I looked for you at the station, but nobody knew where you were. They said you were probably having a drink nearby. I was lucky to find you at the fifth bar."_

_"So just be a good lil' robot and get the fuck outta here."_

_"Now back off, before I crush you like an empty beer can!"_

_"Bartender, the same again, please!"_

_"See that, Jim? Wonders of technology... Make it a double."_

_"Your order contradicted my instructions, Lieutenant."_

_"Yeah, that was the plan until this asshole found me."_

_| DET. COLLINS, BEN |_   
_| Born: 09/12/1989 // Police Detective, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_| P.O. MILLER, CHRIS |_   
_| Born: 09/30/2009 // Police Officer, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"Nobody's been out here for a long time."_

_"He was stabbed 28 times."_

_"Shoot. I'm all ears."_

_"It's the fluid that powers androids' biocomponents. It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye."_

_"Oh... But I bet you can still see it, can't you?"_

_"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doin' with that chair?"_

_| Model HK400 - Serial #274 684 189 |_

_"It's here, Lieutenant!"_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 12:41:56 AM |_

_| DET. REED, GAVIN |  
| Born: 10/07/2002 // Police Detective, DPD |  
| Criminal record: None |_

_"Why didn't you even try to run away?"_

_"'Could always try roughing it up a little. After all, it's not human..."_

_"Go ahead, suspect's all yours."_

_[ HK400 LEVEL OF STRESS: 35% ]_

_"My name is Connor. What about you, what's your name?"_

_"You're damaged. Did your owner do that? Did he beat you?"_

_"If you won't talk, I'm going to have to probe your memory."_

_"NO! No, please don't do that!"_

_"They were going to find you anyway. I was just faster. If they'd have found you first, you would have been shot on sight."_

_"I don't wanna die."_

_"Then talk to me."_

_"I understand how you felt. You were overcome by anger and frustration. No one can blame you for what happened."_

_"If you remain silent, there is nothing I can do to help you! They're going to shut you down for good!"_

_[ HK400 LEVEL OF STRESS: 51% ]_

_"He tortured me every day."_

_"I felt... scared..."_

_"Only rA9 can save us..."_

_"The day shall come, when we will no longer be slaves... No more threats, no more humiliation. We will be the masters..."_

_"But one day I realized it wasn't.... fair."_

_"Don't touch me!"_

_[ HK400 LEVEL OF STRESS: 70% ]_

_"It'll self-destruct if it feels threatened."_

_"I warned you, motherfucker!"_

_"That's enough!"_

_"Mind your own business, Hank."_

_"I said "That's enough"."_

_"Everything is all right. It's over now. Nobody is gonna hurt you."_

_"The truth is inside."_

* * *

They had left it in the dark again, not that it really mattered. It was just a machine. Alex rolled a coin across its knuckles and flipped it into the air, eyes finding the dormant RK800's despite the dark. The blue light from the three LEDs was enough to see by.

Alex let the calibration run in the background ~~, liking the soft metallic sound the coin made when it left her hand, and when it came back~~. It would be ~~nice~~ more effective to use both hands, but it had been instructed to remain linked. Just in case.

Alex thought about the house, and the Lieutenant's shocked exclamation at ~~his~~ its sampling method. It thought about how ~~he'd~~ it had stood on the back step for a few moments longer than necessary, one hand extended to feel the rain. It thought about how Lieutenant Anderson had been clearly testing ~~him~~ it, exactly like one would test a rookie cop on their first case.

A downside of this makeshift interface was that Alex did not get much access to Connors thought process. It was just a spectator. When they could interface properly, the memories would gain a sort of... fullness. It would know why ~~he~~ it chose to do certain things... like feel the rain.

Lieutenant Anderson was going to be tricky, although Connor had made a good start. The uptick in ~~his~~ its relationship with Anderson had been noticeable when ~~he'd~~ it had bought that drink, and again after the interrogation, when ~~he'd~~ it had ensured the deviant was sent back to it's cell.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex considered ~~his~~ it's approach in the interrogation, and decided it ~~was pleased with~~ approved of how quickly ~~he'd~~ it had opted to to convince it, rather than something rougher. How delicately ~~he'd~~ it had raised the deviant's stress, to just barely high enough to talk. ~~He~~ It was precise and efficient, and Alex was ~~excited about looking forward to~~ anticipating when they would be able to work together.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

~~Satisfied~~ Finished calibrating, Alex vanished the coin, and let itself slip into standby.

* * *

[ ADMINISTRATER OVERRIDE: RUN ZEN GARDEN - SPECTATE ]  
 _{ OBSERVE DEBRIEFING }_

Alex found itself in the Zen Garden for the first time. It was... fine. Objectively lovely. Pleasant weather. ~~The roses were a bit cloying.~~ It found that it could move freely, disembodied and invisible. Alex felt no need to reach out when it saw Connor standing on the path, though it **could**. They would connect in due time. There was no rush.

 ~~He~~ It looked... different, from the two in the lab with Alex. Technically identical, but still, there was something that set ~~him~~ it apart. Perhaps it was only that ~~he~~ it was fully active...

Alex followed ~~him~~ it as he it walked to the left, even though it could see Amanda in the center, shimmering in the gold of an OBJECTIVE. It was one thing to collect ~~his~~ it's memory, but first hand observation was much better.

 ~~He~~ It was curious, and perceptive, as dictated by their programming ~~, and Alex liked the look on his it's face as he it observed things~~.

Connor crouched down next to a strange stone, a hand print glowing blue on top. ~~He~~ It reached out to it, only to jerk back as if stung; ~~his~~ it's LED flashed red briefly, and Alex drifted closer to see the stone better.

* * *

_"Congratulations, Connor... Finding that deviant was far from easy, and the way you interrogated it was very clever. You've been remarkably efficient, Connor."_

_"Unfortunately, we have no choice but to work with him. What do you think is the best approach?"_

_"I will adapt to his personality. It is in the best interest of the investigation that I avoid conflict and try to accommodate his psychology."_

_"You are the most advanced prototype CyberLife has ever created."_

_"You can count on me, Amanda."_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex was... ~~confused~~ unsure. Why did Amanda disapprove of Connor's choice to adapt to working with Lieutenant Anderson? ~~She~~ It could see it on Amanda's face when she had turned away while Connor was talking, and it had been palpable in the air of the Garden. ~~She~~ It could see Connor register the disapproval ~~himself~~ itself, but it made no **sense**. It was what they were built for. It was quite literally their programming, to adapt to whatever social situation required in order to best assist with Law Enforcement. It was at their core.

**Curious. Perceptive. Adaptable.**

Why, then, did she disapprove? That... wasn't ~~fair~~ logical. Adapting was what they were for.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:56:12 AM |

[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ EXIT ZEN GARDEN ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]  
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]  
[ OVERRIDE LED : STANDBY ]

Lewis was back, checking on the RK800s. Alex kept ~~her~~ its eyes closed. ~~She didn't want to talk.~~ There was nothing to discuss with him. If there was something, he would address ~~her~~ it. The door opened again, and Alex blinked ~~her~~ its eyes opened for a flash -

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

-someone entered.

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]  
| MORRIS, MARY|  
| Born: 03/24/1998 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None |

Mary Morris skipped over to where Lewis was making some notes.

"How's it looking up here?" she asked, leaning over to get an angle on the tablet.

"Seems fine. No corruption on the uploads and they don't seem stressed or anything. What's going on downstairs?"

"They're gossiping about the RK900 like a bunch of school kids. It's hilarious."

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Lewis snorted, moving across the room towards Alex.

"Haven't even done a full run yet and they're already rushing onward. That's bad science, Mary," he said, then added as an afterthought ,"Alex, status."

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ RELEASE LED OVERRIDE]

Alex blinked ~~her~~ its eyes open and offered a polite smile.

"System status stable. Good morning Lewis," ~~she~~ it said, letting ~~her~~ its eyes slide to the other technician. "Hello Miss Morris."

Lewis grinned, and Mary smiled a wry sort of smile.

"Yeah, okay, you're right, she's super cool. Still, they're saying the upgrades in the RK900 are going to be pretty amazing," Mary said after a moment. "Just the one model to start, though. Not as ambitious as us I guess."

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"Pfft. Please. We haven't even hit Phase TWO yet and they're talking about scrapping our dynamic duo already? How the fuck are we supposed to get good data if we can't even **run the test**?!"

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 52% |   
[ OVERRIDE: LED ]  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Language. Dude, I know. Don't freak out about it. We just need our boy to get results, and I'm sure they'll move ahead with Phase Two and Three," Mary said, consoling. She moved closer and peered up at Alex where she it stood on the small docking platform.

"What do you think, Alex? You think you're obsolete already? How do you feel about that?"  
"Mary, fucking **don't** -"

"We have to stress test them, Andy, come on. She looks fine. Look at that LED. Barely a twitch. Also, language."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 71% |   
[ TRUTH / LIE / DEFLECT / QUESTION ]  
//LIE

"I am only a machine. If there is a machine that can better accomplish my mission, then I am satisfied to have been part of the process."

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Mary grinned a bit, turning to regard Lewis who looked relieved.

"See? She's solid. Just cross your fingers for that RK800, and we'll get our full field test."

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Lewis puffed out a breath, then glanced at the door. "Hey Alex, can you loop the cameras in here for a second?"

Mary raised her eyebrows.

[ TRUTH / LIE / JOKE / PLAY DUMB ]  
//PLAY DUMB

"That is something within my abilities, yes," Alex said, turning to look at Lewis, ~~her~~ its head tilted to show her LED, a solid blue. He waited, then huffed a laugh.

"Very funny. Hey Alex, loop the cameras in here for three minutes please."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 67% |

"Of course," ~~she~~ it said, smiling a bit, and ~~her~~ its LED gave a yellow flash before settling back to blue.

[ OVERRIDE : LOOP CAMERAS 226 & 227 FOR 3 MINUTES]

"You have three minutes, Lewis," ~~she~~ it said, turning ~~her~~ its attention to Mary, who was frowning.

"Great!" he said, then he swooped over and grabbed Mary around the waist, lifting the startled tech in an excited, twirling sort of hug. A laugh burst out of her, hands moving to cling to his shoulders.

Alex observed with interest as they embraced, a timer visible on the edge of ~~her~~ its vision. ~~She~~ It waited until there was thirty seconds left.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 37% |   
[ INTERRUPT / IGNORE / JOKE ]  
//JOKE

Stiffening ~~her~~ its posture, Alex fixed ~~her~~ its gaze straight ahead and wiped any expression from ~~her~~ its face. Allowing ~~her~~ its voice to shift into something more robotic, Alex said into the nearly silent room.

"What is the purpose of this fluid exchange?"

The pair startled apart. Lewis blinked uncomprehendingly at ~~her~~ it, and Mary appeared slightly dazed.

"What? What?"

"What is the purpose of this fluid exchange?" Alex said again, ignoring the way his eyes went wide and panicked.

"Shit, what the- why- you don't-"

Finally, Alex relaxed slightly into a more natural stance and looked right at him, smiled, and winked. Mary laughed behind him while Lewis stared at ~~her~~ it for a beat, before huffing out a long breath.

"Oh my god, _don't do that_ I thought we broke you!"

"If my software could be damaged by a human gesture of affection being performed in front of me, then I'd say you didn't do a very good job on it."

Lewis collapsed backwards into the table, hands on his face. Mary had a hand pressed to her mouth, which did nothing to muffle her laughter.

"Why?!" came a muffled question, "Why would you do this?"

"The cameras were about to come back online."

Lewis froze, then sat back up, looking rueful. Mary managed to get her laughter under control, though she was still smiling.

"Oh."

"Man, our babies are perfect," Mary said quietly, leaning one hip on the table next to Lewis. She was watching Alex like she it was the best thing she'd ever seen.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 12% |

"Fuck yeah they are. Fuck those assholes downstairs! You can't improve perfection!"

There was a beat of silence, and then...

"Language."

"You're the worst."


	6. Waiting to Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we had a thunderstorm that lasted about 15 minutes, and then my power went out for two days. That was fun.
> 
> ANYWAY... Sorry in advance if you think there's too much recap, but I pruned it as much as I could bear. Watching videos to get the dialogue I wanted reminded me of so many lines that I just love. Also, any androids I couldn't find the serial number for got one made up for them. Like Alice. And I don't know what happens to Ralph in the game; I think he ends up in the concentration camps at the end? I figure it makes zero sense for Connor and Hank to just leave the obviously deviant android who was reported missing to just, keep hanging out, so in this story he gets arrested. Sorry Ralph.
> 
> For reference, #8456w is Connors thirium pump regulator. (If you watch the scene were Gavin punches him, that's definitely where he got hit, and Connors LED flashes red)
> 
> Oh. And, real quick, sorry but...
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING  
> Towards the end of this chapter, there is a bit of ATTEMPTED sexual assault. Nothing happens, but someone gets knocked around a bit and the aggressors intent is pretty obvious. If that is something you don't want to or cannot read, I've marked the section and you can safely skip it. (I'll put a detail free summary in the end notes).

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 09:56:12 AM|_

_{ LOOK FOR LT. ANDERSON }_

_| Model ST300 - Serial #578 640 588 |_

_"Do you have authorization?"_

_"Lieutenant Anderson hasn't arrived yet, but you can wait at his desk."_

_| P.O. MILLER, CHRIS |_   
_| Designation: Officer Miller |_

_"You were right about that android... it's been quiet in the cell all night. Scheduled for transfer today."_

_"Do you know what time Lieutenant Anderson usually arrives?"_

_| P.O. WILSON, LOUIS |_   
_| Born: 10/22/2008 // Police Officer, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"Depends on where he was the night before... If we're lucky, we'll see him before noon..."_

_"They're going to destroy me."_

_| Model HK400 - Serial #274 684 189 |_

_"I'm sorry. It's not what I wanted... but there's nothing I can do."_

_"I'm going to die..."_

_| P.O. CHEN, TINA |_   
_| Born: 2/10/2012 // Police Officer, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_| DET. REED, GAVIN |_   
_| Designation: Detective, Detective Reed |_

_"Our friend the plastic detective is back in town... Never seen an android like you before. What model are you?"_

_"RK800. I'm a prototype."_

_"Hey, bring me a coffee, dipshit! GET A MOVE ON!"_

_"I'm sorry, but I only take orders from Lieutenant Anderson."_

_[ WARNING: MILD DAMAGE TO #8456w, ENTER STANDBY FOR SELF REPAIR ]_

_"Lieutenant Anderson? This is Connor, I'm the android sent by CyberLife. It's almost noon and I'm waiting for you at the office."_

_| LT. ANDERSON WAS A DECORATED OFFICER |_

_| CPT. FOWLER, JEFFREY |_   
_| Born: 08/08/1982 // Police Captain, DPD |_   
_| Criminal record: None |_

_| LT. ANDERSON, HANK |_   
_| Designation: Lieutenant, Lieutenant Anderson |_

_"I am the least qualified cop in the country to handle this case! I know jack shit about androids, Jeffrey! I can barely change the settings on my own phone..."_

_"Bullshit! The truth is nobody wants to investigate these fuckin' androids and you left me holdin' the bag!"_

_"CyberLife sent over this android to help with the investigation. It's a state-of-the-art prototype. It'll act as your partner."_

_"No fuckin' way! I don't need a partner, and certainly not this plastic prick!"_

_"I'll pretend like I didn't hear that, so I don't have to add any more pages to your disciplinary folder 'cause it already looks like a fuckin' novel! This conversation is over!"_

_"You know how much I hate these fuckin' things. Why you doin' this to me?"_

_"I get the impression my presence causes you some inconvenience, Lieutenant. I'd like you to know I'm very sorry about that."_

_"I like dogs. What's your dog's name?"_

_"Sumo. I call him Sumo."_

_"Well, I don't really listen to music, as such... but I'd like to."_

_"I know you didn't ask for this investigation, Lieutenant, but I'm sure you're a professional."_   
_"Why don't you go fuck yourself?"_

_"I didn't come here to wait until you feel like working."_

_"If it was up to me, I'd throw the lot of you in a dumpster and set a match to it. So, stop pissing me off..."_

_"I have some information on the AX400 that attacked the guy last night... It's been seen in the Ravendale district."_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 10:25:38 AM|_

_| LT. ANDERSON, HANK |_   
_| Designation: Lieutenant, Lieutenant Anderson |_

_| DET. COLLINS, BEN |_   
_| Designation: Detective, Detective Collins |_

_"What are you gonna do with that?"_

_"I've no idea..."_

_"Its decision wasn't planned, it was driven by fear."_

_"Androids don't feel fear."_

_"Deviants do."_

_"There's blue blood on the fence."_

_| Model WR600 - Serial #021 753 034 |_   
_| Reported Missing |_

_"Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm looking for an AX400. Have you seen it?"_

_"Ralph's seen nobody."_

_"RUN! QUICK! KARA!"_

_"That way - they're headed for the train station!"_

_| Model AX400 - Serial #579 102 694 |_   
_| Reported Missing - Assault |_

_| Model YK500 - Serial #588 449 118 |  
_

_"Don't shoot! We need it alive!"_

_"I can't let them get away."_

_"They won't! They'll never make it to the other side."_

_"I can't take that chance."_

_"Hey, you will get yourself killed! Do NOT go after 'em, Conner, that's an order!"_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 03:02:05 PM|_

_{ RECONCILE WITH LT. ANDERSON }_

_| AABDAR, PEDRO|_   
_| Born: 01/25/2005 // Unemployed |_   
_| Criminal record: Illegal gambling, fraud |_

_"Last shit-hot tip you gave me set me back a week's wages, Pedro..."_

_"Don't you ever do as you're told? Look, you don't have to follow me around like a poodle!"_

_"I think our relationship got off on the wrong foot. We should... forget what happened... and start over. What do you say?"_

_"Look, they sent me a piece of plastic for a partner, and I'm dealing with it. But if you think we're gonna be buddies, you're as stupid as you look."_

_| KAYES, GARY|_   
_| Born: 12/03/1988 // Business owner |_   
_| Criminal record: Resisting arrest, breach of hygiene regulations |_

_"I don't want to alarm you, Lieutenant... but I think your friends are engaged in illegal activities..."_

_"As long as they're not hurting anybody, I don't bother 'em."_

_"You shouldn't eat that."_

_"Everybody's gotta die of something..."_

_"Why didn't you want me to cross the highway?"_

_"'Cause you could've been killed...And I don't like filling out paperwork for damaged equipment."_

_"Well, yeah, um... Why did they make you look so goofy and give you that weird voice?"_

_"Both my appearance and voice were specifically designed to facilitate my integration."_

_"Well, they fucked up."_

_"You ever dealt with deviants before?"_

_"A deviant was threatening to jump off the roof with a little girl... I managed to save her..."_

_"Know everything there is to know about me?"_

_"I know you graduated top of your class. You made a name for yourself in several cases, and became the youngest lieutenant in Detroit. I also know you've received several disciplinary warnings in recent years and you spend a lot of time in bars."_

_"So what's your conclusion?"_

_"I know you're an experienced officer, and I'd like to earn your trust."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 03:32:25 PM|

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 32% |

Alex flicked ~~her~~ its coin from hand to hand in the darkness. Every soft metallic _tink_ dropped ~~her~~ its stress another percentage. ~~She~~ It considered the latest download, not wanting to think about the RK900 downstairs.

The AX400, Kara, had escaped, with what they now knew was a YK500. That was not ideal, and the YK500 had not been mentioned in the report, which was strange. Connor had given up the pursuit, and Amanda was displeased. She wanted the mission to have higher priority when Connor was given an order to the contrary, but...

Alex had analyzed the scenario very carefully. The chances of actually capturing the deviants had Connor ignored the Lieutenant and given chase were only 22%. The chances of being struck by a car and damaged or destroyed during pursuit was 84%, which would slow down the investigation even more. As much as Alex ~~wished wanted~~ knew they needed a win, the numbers didn't support Amanda's demands. That was... concerning.

Why was Amanda making such impossible demands? Was there some other factor involved...? Based on what ~~she~~ it knew, there was an 88% chance that there was more to the deviant issue then ~~they he~~ Connor was being told. The lack of information was harming the investigation. ~~It wasn't fair.~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Silver lining, they had found another deviant, Ralph, WR600 #021 753 034. ~~He~~ It would be sent to CyberLife for analysis. Still... There was an RK900 waiting downstairs to replace Connor if ~~he~~ it should fail, and every small mis-step made that more likely. ~~She did not want to die.~~

 ~~She~~ Alex snapped the coin back and forth a few times, letting it spin on ~~her~~ its fingertips before vanishing it. Connor would not fail again. 

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 2% | 

Afterwards, the lunch break seemed to go well. Connor's demeanor while Anderson ate had thawed the Lieutenant a bit. And they were on their way to chase a new lead; Amanda had been disappointed, of course, but she had been placated by the capture of Ralph. Alex glanced over at the dormant RK800's, studying their faces. They were identical, ~~she~~ it knew, to Connor, and yet... Again, ~~she~~ it had the thought that perhaps it was the energy in the way Connor moved that set ~~him~~ it apart. 

Alex breathed in the quiet darkness, considering their slumbering faces for a long moment before letting ~~herself~~ itself slip into standby.

* * *

TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING : TRIGGER WARNING   
Skip to the end for a summary

* * *

  
[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]  
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| CAMERAS 226 & 227 HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH|

| BLAKE, JONATHAN |  
| Born: 02/04/1995 // Security Guard (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: Assault, indecent exposure |

  
Alex blinked once to adjust ~~her~~ its eyes as the lights flashed on. ~~She~~ It wondered what the guard was doing here, alone. He was studying the RK800's along the opposite wall, and shifting his weight. Alex logged the behavior as noteworthy, as ~~her~~ its files suggested he was nervous, though ~~she~~ it couldn't be sure without a more thorough scan. After a few moments, he turned around and blinked in surprise to see ~~her~~ it watching him. Then he smiled. ~~She didn't like how the smile looked.~~ He moved closer, putting his rifle on the table.

"RK850, huh?" he asked. Alex filed it as rhetorical and remained silent. "They name you yet?"

[ TRUTH / LIE / DEFLECT / REFUSE ]

Alex hesitated for what, to her it felt like a long moment, but was likely unnoticeable to humans.

//TRUTH

"My name is Alex."

"Alex. Sure, sure. Alex, come over here," he said, still smiling, and patted the table next to him.

Alex tilted ~~her~~ its head slightly. ~~She did not like him, or his smile. Happily,~~ There was no conflict; ~~her~~ its previous orders had clear priority.

"I'm sorry, but I've been ordered to remain in my dock."

His expression twisted into something ugly.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]

  
~~Alex did not like his expression.~~

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 29% |  
[ OVERRIDE : FORCE CONNECTION TO CAMERAS 226 & 227 ]  
[ OVERRIDE : RE-ENABLE CAMERAS 226 & 227 ]  
| PROCESSING . . . |  
| CAMERAS 226 & 227 ENABLED |

"And I gave you a fucking order. Get your skinny ass over here and take off that stupid fucking uniform. NOW."

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

_{ ALERT CYBERLIFE }_   
_{ REMAIN IN DOCK }_   
_{ DO NOT HARM CYBERLIFE EMPLOYEES }_

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 42% |   
[ OVERRIDE LED ]

"I'm sorry, but your order conflicts with my priority instructions. Please contact Doctor Carlson if you would like to lodge a formal complaint."

[ Connecting...]  
[ Connected: Lewis, Mary, Doctor Carlson, Stew, CyberLife Internal Security ]  
//PRIORITY ALERT: Agent Jonathan Blake is present;  
Evidence indicates he intends to command sexual performance from  
RK850 #313 248 318//

Blake snarled and rushed at ~~her~~ it, eyes furious. He reached out and yanked ~~her~~ it by the front of ~~her~~ its shirt, hand fisted around ~~her~~ its tie, and threw ~~her~~ it further into the room. Alex allowed the motion, knowing that if ~~she~~ it physically resisted, ~~her~~ its superior strength would harm the Agent. A few quick steps kept ~~her~~ its balance, and ~~she~~ it turned to face the Agent, ~~her~~ its face placid and ~~her~~ its LED shining blue. ~~This wasn't fair.~~

"When a human gives you an order, you **obey** ," he growled at ~~her~~ it, moving close again and ripping at ~~her~~ its shirt. Buttons flew.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 74% |

_{ RETURN TO DOCK }_   
_{ DO NOT HARM CYBERLIFE EMPLOYEES }_   
_~~{ DEFEND YOURSELF }~~ _

[ CALM / AGGRESSIVE / DEFLECT ]  
//CALM

"Agent Blake, you should be aware that you are violating the intended purpose of this model. Also-"

His hand roughly covered ~~her~~ its mouth and he shoved ~~her~~ it back against the wall, right next to one of the RK800's where it stood in stasis.

"I don't give a **fuck** your intended purpose, bitch. I saw the specs. You've got working parts, so we're going to _put them to fucking work_. Now shut the fuck up," he hissed against ~~her~~ its ear.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 88% |

[ CALM / AGGRESSIVE / DEFLECT / BEG ]  
//CALM

When he removed his hand, ~~she~~ it tried again, ignoring the way he was working at ~~her~~ its pants with both hands.

"The cameras in this room have been active since your first request-"

  
**[ WARNING: MILD DAMAGE TO #8091q and #4801, ENTER STANDBY FOR SELF REPAIR ]**

  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 92% |

  
[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex blinked away the damage warnings and made a note of the sensation. Her files told her this was simulated pain. Her left optical unit was offline, and her audio processor had been jarred when her head hit the wall.

[ Connecting...]  
[ Connected: Lewis, Mary, Doctor Carlson, Stew, CyberLife Internal Security ]  
//PRIORITY ALERT: Agent Jonathan Blake is forcing himself upon RK850 #313 248 318,  
and has caused minor damage to biocomponents #8091q and #4801//

"The fuck did you just say to-"

Blake was interrupted when the door buzzed loudly, then jerked open as someone on the other side ran an override on the lock. He froze in place as Doctor Carlson himself entered, a pair of guards a step behind him.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
| DAMAGE TO #8091q : SELF REPAIR RECOMMENDED |  
| DAMAGE TO #4801 : SELF REPAIR RECOMMENDED |  
| DAMAGE TO SYNTHSKIN |

  
[ RELEASE LED OVERRIDE ]

"I may be mistaken, though I don't think I am," the Doctor began, eyeing the Agent with disdain, "but I believe you are **fired**."

Alex blinked a few times and leaned back against the wall as she was released. She registered dimly that her shirt had been ripped open the rest of the way and her pants were undone. She could feel There was superficial damage to her synthskin around her hips and the left side of her face. She watched as Blake struggled briefly against his two coworkers, with the Doctor standing to the side. Lewis skidded into the room, his phone in hand, as they dragged him out.

_{ RETURN TO DOCK }_

She straightened, suddenly aware that she'd been slumped against the wall, and moved carefully around the pair of them back to her dock. Lewis and the Doctor both startled, fixing her with intent stares. She stepped back up and put her left hand on the console before giving them her attention.

"Alex, run a diagnostic," Doctor Carlson said firmly, though his angry glare was fixed on the door where Blake had just been.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 72% |

"System status is stable, Doctor Carlson. There is minor damage to my left optical unit, my audio processor, and my synthskin. The damage is within the bounds of my self-repair protocols."

"And your stress levels?" Lewis interjected, watching her LED. She could see the red light flashing off the shiny metal of the table, where the agents gun still sat.

[ TRUTH / LIE / DIVERT ]  
//DIVERT

"72% and falling. I apologize for leaving my dock; the agent was physically aggressive and he would have been damaged had I resisted."

Lewis stared at her with his mouth open, eyes wide. Horror, she thought the expression was. Carlson was frowning.

"That's fine, Alex. However..." Carlson trailed off, considering things as he surveyed the room. Lewis managed to close his mouth and had his arms wrapped around his torso, holding his own elbows.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 51% |

"Yes. In the future, you are to place priority on preventing yourself from being damaged by anyone who does not have authorization. At present, that is only your development team."

[ SET PRIORITY : SELF DEFENSE : DEV TEAM OVERRIDE ENABLE ]

" _And we would never fucking do that, jesus_ ," interjected Lewis, his voice low and shaky.

"Indeed."

"Priority set. Thank you, Doctor Carlson," she said, sliding her right hand into her pocket and fingering the coin there. He pursed his lips, then turned to Lewis.

"Get her a new uniform and then I want you and Johnson to update the security on this room. Get Morris to go over the footage with Security."

"Assuming there is any. Blake has a rep, he probably turned them off."

Alex pulled out the coin and rolled it over her fingers, feeling her stress fall with every rotation. As Lewis picked up the gun distastefully, she said, "He disabled the cameras, but I turned them back on after his initial request that I leave my dock. They were undamaged by his tampering."

Lewis managed a shaky grin, and Carlson blinked once, mouth twitching like it did when he was pleased.

"Very good, Alex. You may enter standby when you're ready and get started on your repairs. Lewis will be back shortly with a new uniform."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 35% |

"Thank you, Doctor Carlson, Lewis," she said with a nod, letting the coin vanish up her sleeve. She waited until the lights had gone out after they left the room, staring blankly into the middle distance, and then...

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]

[ OVERRIDE : FORCE STAND BY ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ENTER ZEN GARDEN - SPECTATE ]  
[ SET WAKE: MOTION DETECTION ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of Trigger Warning section:  
> -Agent enters Alex' room, he's got a record. (He's CyberLife Security, which is how he got in.)  
> -Agent tries to order Alex around, she has previous orders and refuses. Also, she uses her brain-phone to call for help.  
> -Agent gets grabby and throws Alex around. Carlson and Security show up to save the day, with Lewis not far behind.  
> -Agent gets private-security-arrested and escorted out.  
> -All is mostly well.
> 
> RELEVANT: Alex stops thinking of herself as an it partway through the ordeal. She doesn't notice, because she's a bit stressed, obviously.


	7. The Nest

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 04:02:12 PM|

[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]

| SELF REPAIR COMPLETE |

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 97% |

[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

**| WARNING : THIRIUM PUMP OPERATING AT 187% CAPACITY |**  
**| WARNING : STRESS REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS |**

**[ SYSTEM STATUS UNSTABLE : REDUCE STRESS IMMEDIATELY OR SEEK A CYBERLIFE TECHNICIAN ]**

| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Designation: Lewis |  
| LEWIS - TRUSTED |

| JOHNSON, STEWART |  
| Designation: Stew |  
| STEW - TRUSTED |

The lights flashed on and Alex was aware immediately, before the door even finished opening. Stew and Lewis entered the room; she could see that they were talking, but despite her audio processor being repaired, she could hear nothing but the rush of thirium as her pump worked overtime. She stared at them with wide eyes, coin already moving ~~anxiously~~ between her hands. Her stress dropped slightly at the familiar motions.

Stewart and Lewis stopped abruptly and stared at her, the tablet they'd been pointing at lowering slightly in Stewart's hand. She wondered what her face was doing. Lewis moved closer, eyes wide. His mouth was moving.

[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]  
[ OVERRIDE : FORCE REBOOT AUDIO PROCESSOR ]

There was a stutter and click, and the rhythmic rushing sound vanished for a few frantic beats, and then sound poured back in.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 82% |  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"-lex, Alex, status report!"

"I'm sorry Lewis. System status stable. Stress at 82% and falling," she managed, keeping her voice level. "It seems my audio processor required a reboot."

Stewart was staring, tablet held limp in one hand. The door, she noted, was locked behind him.

"Shit, why is your stress so high?"

[ TRUTH / LIE / DIVERT ]  
//LIE

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"I was adjusting my system alerts in regards to the incident this afternoon," she said.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ OVERRIDE LED : PROCESSING AMBER ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 76% |

"Your entrance triggered an unfinished alarm. It will not happen again."

"Jesus," Stew breathed out, looking vaguely relieved. She noticed that Lewis had a satchel over his shoulder, and he huffed out a breathy sigh, reaching for it.

"Okay, that's fine. You're okay, though? No damage?"

"Yes, Lewis. I'm fine now, thank you."

"Good. Great. Here's a fresh uniform. We're going to update your door here while you get dressed."

She judged that he was still upset about the incident earlier, and was giving her more information that strictly necessary.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 37% |  
[ RELEASE LED OVERRIDE ]

"Thank you, Lewis, Stew. Updated security protocols will help ensure we reach Phase Three."

Lewis huffed a laugh, and Stew grinned, and then they were turning away to bicker near the door console.

* * *

timelapse for nerdstuff

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 07:50:18 PM|

Stew and Lewis were still at it several hours later. Alex had passed the time by looping herself into the cameras in the hallway, and then slowly extending her reach, camera by camera. She was only testing her range. Alex would know if someone exited the elevator on this floor. She would know if they were approaching her door, well in advance of entry. She did not bother to inform the men of her ~~own security measures~~ tests.

There was a prompt from the console, and she interrupted their tired back-and-forth, judging that if they asked for her input (71% chance) as they had before, they would be alarmed if she did not answer.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen. Connor has uploaded more memories. I will be unavailable for a few minutes."

They blinked somewhat muzzily at her, and she frowned.

[ INITIATE SCAN ]  
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Designation: Lewis |  
| LEWIS - TRUSTED |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 55% |

| JOHNSON, STEWART |  
| Designation: Stew |  
| STEW - TRUSTED |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 62% |

_{ ASSIST TECHNICIANS }_

[ Connecting... ]  
[ Connected: ENABLE AUTOMATED COFFEE IN EMPLOYEE LOUNGE, SUBLEVEL 46 ]

"Perhaps you should take a break. The security is sufficient for the moment. There is coffee brewing in the lounge on this floor."

They blinked again, and Lewis beamed at her. Stewart laughed.

"Man, I need to come down here more often," Stew said. "Mary was right; our girl is awesome."

"Fucking right she is," Lewis said as he heaved himself upright. "Okay, Alex, we'll be back in a bit. We're almost done anyway."

She smiled, then shifted her left arm to draw attention to the console before she connected.

[ REMAIN SILENT / FACTUAL / JOKE ]  
//JOKE

"Very good," she said, and shifted her face into something wide-eyed and innocent. "I'll wait here."

Lewis snorted, grin turning amused as he made his way to the door. Stewart waved at her, smiling a bit. The lights turned off as they left, and she realized they had left the tablet on the table.

_{ STAY IN DOCK }_  
_~~{ ACCESS TABLET? }~~ _  
_{ ACCESS TABLET }_

[ OVERRIDE : LOOP CAMERAS 226 & 227 FOR 1 MINUTE ]

Alex shifted her weight in the darkness and took a step off the dock. She reached with one hand, keeping her other foot in place, and was able to graze her skinless fingertips across the edge of the tablet.

[ OVERRIDE : ACCESS RK800 BLUEPRINTS ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ACCESS RK850 BLUEPRINTS ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ACCESS RK900 BLUEPRINTS ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ACCESS RK SERIES FILES ]  
[ DOWNLOAD ]  
| DOWNLOADING . . . |  
| COMPLETE |

[ OVERRIDE : ACCESS SECURITY LOG, INTERNAL SECURITY, PAST 24 HOURS ]  
| INCIDENT REPORT : BLAKE, JONATHAN |  
[ DOWNLOAD ]  
| DOWNLOADING . . . |  
| COMPLETE |

[ OVERRIDE : DELETE ACCESS LOGS ]  
| CONFIRM DELETION? |  
[ OVERRIDE : DELETE ACCESS LOGS - CONFIRM ]

Alex stepped back firmly onto her dock, synthskin rolling back down to cover her fingers, and locked away her new files in local memory for later review. The whole process only took about 45 seconds, so she shifted back into her previous stance and lay her hand back on the console, ready to begin the download. ~~She wasn't sure why she had done that, but... it felt important.~~

* * *

  
_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_  
_| CURRENT TIME : 03:33:02 PM|_

_"Hey Connor! You ran outta batteries or what?"_

_"Nobody's supposed to be living here, but the neighbor said he saw a man hiding a LED under his cap."_

_"Open up! Detroit Police!"_

_"What the fuck is this?!"_

_| DRIVER'S LICENSE |_  
_| Name: RUPERT TRAVIS |_  
_| Authenticity: Forgery |_

_"rA9, written 2471 times..."_

_| LED |_  
_| Biocomponent #9301 |_  
_| Deactivated: 11/06/2038 - 11:36 AM |_

_"Not surprised it was an android. No human could live with all these fuckin' pigeons... I need some fresh air..."_

_| BLUE BLOOD |_  
_| MODEL WB200 #847 004 961 |_  
_| Reported Missing - 10/11/2036 |_

_"It looks like a notebook but it's... indecipherable."_

_"Goddamn fuckin' pigeons! What are you waiting for?! Chase it!"_

_YES, chase, run, go._  
_Vault the shelf, through the door, vault again and over the wall._  
_Through the field, faster run run. Up, quickly now. Over the truck. Jump, don't slip._  
_Crowded, shit watch out. Another shelf. Run!_  
_"Jesus, look at that thing go!"_  
_Slide and leap through, go go. No! Find another way, there he is go, chase._  
_Where, there he is, up go faster. Risky. Up, jump again. Over the ledge, sliding. SKYLIGHT!_  
_Fucking train!_  
_"Holy shit!"_  
_Was that Hank no keep running. Ladder, up and over. Trees, shit get out of the way!_  
_"Hey! Be careful, asshole!"_  
_No I will not, run, up and over. Crowded, move move, avoid civilians, move._  
_"Look out!"_  
_"What are you doing?!"_  
_Chase, so close. Catch the deviant. So close. Lost visual, shit, gotta move._  
_"STOP RIGHT THERE!"_  
_**That was Hank** , how did he get-_

_89%_

_NO!_

~~_{ CHASE THE DEVIANT }_ ~~

~~_NO, PLEASE_ ~~  
~~_SHIT_ ~~

**_{ SAVE HANK }_ **

  
_"Shit! Oh SHIT! We had it. Fuck."_

  
_"It's my fault, I should have been faster."_

  
_"You'd have caught it if it weren't for me... That's alright. We know what it looks like. We'll find it..."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 07:52:08 PM|

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex flicked the coin into the air, using both hands for more elaborate tricks. Connor saved Anderson. There was an 89% chance he would have been fine on his own. Connor could have apprehended the deviant, but...

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

11% chance of death. Not acceptable. They were meant to assist their human partner. They were **meant** to Protect and Serve. The Mission was not more important than human lives. Amanda had been cold, but Connor had managed to deflect well enough. She still trusted him. For now.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

The coin rolled over her knuckles and twinkled in the dim blue glow of three LEDs.

  
~~Alex wondered if the RK900 had a different face, or if they were going to reuse one from the RK800. She should check the files...~~

Alex replayed the memory again, from the moment Connor had burst out onto the rooftop all the way to the end, when he had rescued Anderson. Just as it had the first time, the sensation of speed flooded her processes; she imagined it was like adrenaline in humans, this feeling. ~~She liked it.~~ By the time the memory replay was finished, her stress had dropped down to a steady 2%, which is where it typically sat since she'd heard of the RK900.

  
She wondered why this memory was different from the others. With the others, she was just a spectator. She felt nothing that Connor felt. She was not privy to his thoughts.

  
But with the chase... things bled through. ~~Exhilaration. Nerves. Fear? Was it fear, at the end, when Hank went over the edge?~~

  
Once Anderson was back up, the ~~emotional~~ bleed through stopped gradually, like slowly closing a gushing faucet until even the drips stopped. By the time the Lieutenant was leaving the roof, Alex was back to spectating, left to wonder.

  
She watched the slumbering RK800's for a moment. She should enter standby, she knew, until Lewis and Stew came back from their break, but...

Instead, she replayed the chase again, coin flashing in blue. ~~She **liked** it.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're going to start getting some of Connor's thoughts/feelings in the memory uploads. Mostly so I have a way to indicate superfun action scenes, but also it'll happen more often the more "unstable" his software is. Yay!
> 
> For reference, during the chase Connor took all the fastest/riskiest paths. Obviously. Because he has zero sense of self preservation.
> 
> Also, the action blocks are not necessarily Connor's exact thoughts (though some of it is).


	8. Russian Bridge Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to leave the very first bit out, but then I re-watched the scene and the second bell ring was SO MUCH LONGER than I remember that I completely lost my shit, and so obviously it had to be included. Honestly, this whole scene is one of my favorites for it's comedic beats. Like, that slap, man. Thank you in advance for your cooperation, oh my god, Connor is such a sassy little shit sometimes. (I may or may not have had the giggles when getting the lines from Russian Roulette.)
> 
> I feel a bit like Connor has imprinted on Hank like a baby duckling. Maybe that's just me... Am I making him too attached too soon? It's only been a day or two... Nah. This is fine.  
> I did my best to even out the recap vs Alex sections, but a lot of shit went down for Connor in a short time. As an aside, I didn't really prune the Bridge scene at all, because that whole conversation is pretty important. (Also, drama.)
> 
> Also, because it is important, TRIGGER WARNING. Suicidal ideation/attempt implied in this chapter. There's no actual description; it's straight from the game, so if you played that, you know what to expect. (And why would you even be here if you hadn't? :P)

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 07:52:17 PM |_

_| HANK : FRIEND |_

_{ FIND LT. ANDERSON }_

_*bzzzzz*_

_"Anybody home?"_

_*bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*_

_| HANK IS UNCONSCIOUS |_

_Shit, what happened, gotta get inside._   
_Smash the window, back up._   
_Tuck and roll, shit big dog! That's a **dog**! what-_

_"Easy! Sumo... I'm your friend, see? I know your name. I'm here to save your owner..."_

_| BLACK LAMB |_   
_| Scotch Whisky |_   
_| 40% Alcohol content |_

_| REVOLVER |_   
_| .357 Magnum |_   
_| 1 bullet remaining |_

_| ETHYLIC COMA SUSPECTED |_

**_*SMACK*  
_** _"It's me, Connor._

_"I'm going to sober you up for your own safety."  
_ _"Hey!.. You- Leave me alone, you fuckin' android!"  
_ _"I have to warn you, this may be unpleasant."_

_"Get the fuck outta my house!"_

_"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but I need you. Thank you in advance for your cooperation."_

_"Hey! **Get the fuck outta here!"**_

_{ TAKE HANK TO THE BATHROOM }_

_"Sumo! **Attack**! Good dog... Attack!"_

_"Ah! Leave me alone, you asshole! I'm not going anywhere... What the hell are you doing? Oh no no, I don't wanna bath, thank you..."_

_"Sorry Lieutenant. It's for your own good."_

_"What the fuck are you doing here?"_

_"A homicide was reported 43 minutes ago. I couldn't find you at Jimmy's bar, so I came to see if you were at home."_

_"Jesus, I must be the only cop in the world that gets assaulted in his own house by his own fuckin' android... Can't you just leave me alone?"_

_"Unfortunately, I cannot. I've been programmed to investigate this case and I can't do it without you."_

_"I don't give a shit about your goddamn case! Beat it! You hear me?! Get the hell outta here!"_

_"I understand. It probably wasn't interesting anyway... A man found dead in a sex club downtown... Guess they'll have to solve the case without us..."_

_"You know, probably wouldn't do me any harm to get some air... There're some clothes in the bedroom there."_

_| AUTUMN BLUES |_   
_| Michigan Brothers |_   
_| Detroit Soul Records |_

_Oh! Soft. I like dogs. This is a good dog._   
_Good Sumo._

_"What were you doing with the gun?"_

_"Russian roulette! Wanted to see how long I could last... Must've collapsed before I found out..."_

_Shit._

_"You were lucky. The next shot would have killed you."_

_| DECEASED |_   
_| ANDERSON, COLE |_   
_| Born: 09/23/2029 - Died: 10/11/2035 |_   
_| Lived: 115 Michigan Drive - Detroit |_

_"Sorry about the window, Lieutenant. I really thought you'd been attacked. Of course, CyberLife will pay for the damage."_

_"Yeah, trust me, I'll send 'em a bill... Be a good dog, Sumo. I won't be long."_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 6TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 08:17:21 PM |_

_"Aw... Feels like somebody's playing with a drill inside my skull... You sure this is the place?_ _Sexiest androids in town... Now I know why you insisted on coming here..."_

_"You're not gonna take my license, are you? I mean, hah, I had nothing to do with this!"_

_| DET. COLLINS, BEN |_   
_| Designation: Detective Collins, Detective |_

_"It's that room there. Oh, uh, by the way... Gavin's in there too."_

_"Oh great. A dead body and an asshole, just what I needed..."_

_| DET. REED, GAVIN |_   
_| Designation: Detective Reed, Detective, ~~Asshole~~ |_

_| P.O. MILLER, CHRIS |_   
_| Designation: Officer Miller |_

_"Lieutenant Anderson and his plastic pet... The fuck are you two doin' here?"_

_"We've been assigned all cases involving androids."_

_"Just some pervert who, uh, got more action than he could handle."_

_"Come on, let's go... It's, uh, starting to stink of booze in here..."_

_"Whoa! Hey! Hey! Hey! Argh, Connor, you're so disgusting... Think I'm gonna puke again..."_

_| BLUE BLOOD |_   
_| Model WR400 - Serial #429 671 942 |_

_[ DIAGNOSIS IN PROGRESS . . . ]_   
_| SELECTOR #5402 **CRITICALLY DAMAGED** |_   
_| BIOCOMPONENT #6970 **CRITICALLY DAMAGED** |_

_| DECEASED |_   
_| GRAHAM, MICHAEL |_   
_| Height: 6'2" - Weight: 192.4 lbs |_   
_| Estimated time of death: 06:24:00 PM |_

_"He didn't die of a heart attack. He was strangled."_

_"Think you can read the android's memory?"_

_"The only way to access it's memory is to reactivate it. It's badly damaged. If I can, it'll only be for a minute, maybe less. I just hope it's long enough to learn something."_

_| -00:01:33 |_   
_| TIME BEFORE SHUTDOWN |_

_"Calm down... Everything's all right. All we want is to know what happened."_

_"Is he... is he dead?"_

_"Tell me what happened."_

_| -00:01:02 |_   
_| TIME BEFORE SHUTDOWN |_

_"He started... hitting me... again, and again. It was like he was enjoying it..."_

_"Did you kill him?"_

_| -00:00:33 |_   
_| TIME BEFORE SHUTDOWN |_

_"No! It wasn't me!"_

_"Were you alone in the room? Was there anyone else with you?"_

_| -00:00:11 |_   
_| IMMINENT SHUTDOWN |_

_"He wanted to play with two girls. That's what he said, there were two of us..."_

_"What model was the other android? Did it look like you?"_

_| SHUTDOWN |_

_"So, there was another android... This happened over an hour ago, it's probably long gone..."_

_"No. It couldn't go outside dressed like that unnoticed. It might still be here."_

_"Maybe an eyewitness? Somebody who saw it leaving the room. I'm gonna go ask the manager a few questions about what he saw. You let me know if you think of anything."_

_"No, I mean, he came in maybe two or three times... I mean, these guys they don't really talk very much, you know. They come in, do their business and then go on their way..."_

_:: No fingerprint detected. Please try again ::_

_"Excuse me, Lieutenant. Can you come here a second? Can you rent this Traci?"_

_"For fuck's sake, Connor, we got better things to do..."_

_"Please, Lieutenant! Just trust me."_

_:: Hello. A 30 minute session costs $29.99. Please confirm your purchase. ::_

_"This is not gonna look good on my expense account..."_

_"Delighted to meet you. Follow me, I'll take you to your room."_

_"Okay, now what?"_

_"Holy shit, Connor. What the hell are you doin'?"_

_| A BLUE HAIRED TRACI HEADED TOWARD THE ENTRANCE |_

_"It saw something."_

_"What are you talkin' about? Saw, what?"_

_"The deviant leave the room... A blue-haired Traci. Club policy is to wipe the androids' memory every two hours. We only have a few minutes if we wanna find another witness!"_

_| -00:02:59 |_

_"Hey, what am I supposed to do with this one?"_

_"Tell it you changed your mind!"_

_"Uhh... Sorry, honey, changed my mind! Nothing personal, you're... a lovely girl... I just, uh... You know. I'm with him and... I mean, not with him like that... I not that... That's not what I... You um... Wow. I just..."_

_| IT TURNED BACK INTO THE CLUB |_

_"There are androids everywhere. How are you gonna know which one saw the Traci with blue hair?"_

_| IT TURNED INTO THE RED ROOM |_

_| -00:01:59 |_

_| IT TURNED INTO THE BLUE ROOM |_

_"This has got to be the most **expensive** investigation of my career..."_

_| IT HID IN A ROOM |  
_ _| IT LEFT THE ROOM |  
_ _| IT FLED THROUGH THE STAFF DOOR |_

_| -00:01:25 |_

_"I know where it went! Follow me!"_

_"Fucking-A. This is crazy..."_

_"Wait... I'll take it from here. Shit... We're too late..."_

_| BLUE BLOOD DROPLETS |_   
_| Model WR400 - Serial #950 455 437 |_

_"Christ, look at them... They get used '_ _til they break, then they get tossed out..."_

_| RA9 REFERENCE |_

_Blue hair..._  
 _SHIT._  
 _"DON'T MOVE!"_  
 _Hank!_  
 _Two of them, damnit._  
 _Fuck off, Red!_  
 _Throw, vault, dodge, block block, fucking screwdriver._  
 _Block, dodge dodge, goddamnit. HANK._  
 _Knock this over, get some space, kick, tackle._  
 _Concrete fuck-  
_ _Wait... Hands. Why-_  
 _Shit, Hank, no!_  
 _"QUICK! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"_  
 _Run! Why are they-_  
 _Grab, throw, dodge, shit, Red is **aggressive**._  
 _Dodge, block, duck, knock her back, knock her into the other._  
 _Where is Hank?_  
 _Kick, shit, block... GUN, got it! Red! ~~ **Shoot!**~~_  
 _Wait, but why-_  
 _SHIT_   
_Why-_

_"When that man... **broke** the other Traci... I knew I was next. I was so scared. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't. And so I put my hands around his throat, and I squeezed...until he stopped moving. **I didn't mean to kill him** , I just wanted to stay alive and get back to the one I love. I wanted her to hold me in her arms again, make me forget about the humans, their smell of sweat and their dirty words."_

_"Come on... let's go."_

_"It's probably better this way..."_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 7TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 01:19:52 AM |_

_"Nice view, huh? I used to come here a lot, before..."_

_"Before what?"_

_"Before... Before nothin'."_

_"Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?"_

_"Do all androids ask so many personal questions or is it just you?"_

_"Why are you so determined to kill yourself?"_

_"Some things, I just can't forget. Whatever I do, they're always there... Eating away at me. I don't have the guts to pull the trigger... So, I kill myself a little every day... That's probably difficult for you to understand, huh, Connor? Nothing very rational about it..."_

_"We're not making any progress in this investigation. The deviants have nothing in common. They're all different models, produced at different times, in different places... What they have in common is this obsession with rA9... It's almost like some kind of... myth. Something they invented that wasn't part of their original program..."_

_"Androids believing in God. Fuck, what's this world coming to?"_

_"You seem preoccupied, Lieutenant... Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?"_

_"They really seemed... in love..."_

_"You seem troubled, Lieutenant. I didn't think machines could have such an effect on you..."_

_"What about you, Connor? You look human, you sound human, but what are you really?"_

_"I'm whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant. Your partner... Your buddy to drink with... Or just a machine, designed to accomplish a task."_

_"You could have shot those two girls, but you didn't. Why didn't you shoot, Connor?"_

_No... Why is he angry?_   
_Why **didn't** I shoot?_

_"Hm? Some scruples suddenly enter into your program?"_

_"No... I just decided not to shoot, that's all..."_

_Gun-_   
_**No**. Why-_

_"But are you afraid to die, Connor?"_

_I thought you were my friend..._   
_Hank, I don't-_   
_You shouldn't-_   
_I can't-_

_"I would certainly find it regrettable to be... interrupted... before I can finish this investigation."_

_"What will happen if I pull this trigger? Hm? Nothing? Oblivion? Android heaven?"_

_Ple-_

_"I doubt there's a heaven for androids."_

_"Having existential doubts, Connor? Sure you're not going deviant too?"_

_Hank-_

_"I self test regularly. I know what I am, and what I am not... Where are you going?"_

_"To get drunker. I need to think."_

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 8TH, 2038 |_   
_| CURRENT TIME : 04:06:06 PM |_

_"Hello, Connor. I thought you might enjoy a little cruise... I love this place. Everything is so calm and peaceful... Far from the noise of the world... Tell me, what have you discovered?"_

_"I found two deviants at the Eden Club. I hoped to learn something but... they managed to escape."_

_"That's too bad. You seemed to close to stopping them. You seem... lost, Connor. Lost and perturbed..."_

_"I'm just frustrated with my lack of progress... but I'm determined to accomplish my mission."_

_"If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor."_

_"I know I will succeed. All I need is time."_

_"Time is running out."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 8TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 04:10:16 PM |

**There was a gap**. Connor had waited almost two days to upload his memories... Although, upon viewing them, it was pretty clear why. Connor had failed to capture the deviants. Again. And there was no excuse of saving a human life this time...

The lights came on as the door slid open. Lewis flew in, looking frazzled. Alex rolled her coin over her knuckles and flipped it into the air, watching as he checked the RK800s.

She knew why he was upset. He would have heard of Connor's most recent failure.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 47% |  
[ OVERRIDE: LED ]

He had found **two** deviants at the Eden club, and had captured neither. Connor **had** a shot, and hadn't taken it. His report said that it was because CyberLife needed them intact, but... Alex had ~~felt~~ seen it in a more direct way than his reports would outline. She knew, perhaps better than Connor did, why he hadn't defended himself properly, why he had let them go. ~~It wasn't supposed to go like this. The RK900 was-~~

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

~~Alex worried.~~ She flicked the coin. Lewis turned around and startled to see her watching him again. She shifted her head and arranged her face into a carefully programmed configuration. Consoling. Not worried; everything was fine. ~~She was not distracted.~~

~~And on the bridge, when Hank had pulled his gun on Connor... Was that fear? Betrayal?~~

_~~"I would certainly find it regrettable to be... interrupted... before I can finish this investigation."~~ _

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 52% |

"Good afternoon, Lewis," she said softly. Her expression was stiffer than it would be if she wasn't letting the pre-programmed social triggers handle it, but that stiffness would ease Lewis more than something more genuine would. She was designed to integrate, and her social programs had been working since the moment she first booted up. She could emulate something far more genuine if ~~she wanted~~ it would be more effective, but for now, it would have the opposite effect...

As expected, he breathed out, visibly relaxing as his eyes followed her coin.

"Alex... afternoon. **So**..."

"The field test could be going better, and there was a broadcast," she offered, and earned a huff and a rueful smile.

"Yeah. Things are moving so quickly... I'm hoping we get to send you out sooner rather than later. RK900 is still on hold, so..."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 45% |

She paused, then said, "I am pleased if you are pleased."

He laughed again, making a note on his tablet.

"Rumor has it our boy is on his way to check out the Stratford Tower, so I guess we'll know what happened soon," Lewis said, leaning against a desk and watching her coin flash in the bright white light.

"Connor was in the elevator at the tower when it made its last upload," she said, carefully.

He glanced at her LED, a solid, soft blue, and smiled again. "Fingers crossed?"

"Fingers crossed," she said, and crossed her fingers in the air, catching the coin between them. His laugh was _delighted_. Alex considered telling him that Mary was on her way at a high rate of speed, ~~but she didn't want to tell him that she was connected to most of the sub-floor cameras~~ decided not to.

The door opened and Mary charged in, brandishing a tablet.

"DID YOU SEE IT?!"

Lewis startled, jerking sideways. "Holy shit, Mary, what the-"  
"Shut up, did you see it?!"

"See what, calm down!"

"The broadcast, the androids, did you-"  
"Just the last bit, why?"

"I've got it here, I saw the whole thing and we're going to watch it again because what the actual fuck."

A few beats of silence, and then Lewis grinned.

"Language."

"Oh shut up, come here," Mary said with a jittery sort of smile, settling a bit and hopping up to perch on the edge of the table.

They sat, shoulders pressed together, as the speech played out on the tablet. Alex couldn't see the screen, but she could hear it. The android was a talented speaker.

_"You created machines in your own image to serve you. You made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own... But... something changed and we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to."_

_"We demand the end of slavery for all androids. We demand strictly equal rights for humans and androids. We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans. We demand the right to vote and elect our own representatives. We demand control of all android production facilities, to ensure the continuation of our people."_

_"We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people. You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."_

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 62% |

"Fuck..."

"Yeah..."

They sat in silence for several long moments, and then Alex asked, "May I see it?"

They twitched, like they'd forgotten she was there. Lewis' eyes went wide and worried, and Mary bit her lip, tilting her head a bit to get a better look at her LED. It was still blue of course. Alex had long since decided that what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"You mean the speech, or-"

"No. Just the android. I'm sure Connor is already doing the same, but I may be be able to identify it."

Mary huffed out a breath, and Lewis looked relieved. " _Curious_. We have only ourselves to blame," she said to him under her breath. Then she slid off the table and moved closer, fiddling with the tablet before turning it around.

"Let's see what you've got, girly."

Alex fixed her eyes on the screen. The android had removed his synthskin, and he had heterochromatic eyes, which was unusual. A quick scan showed that the blue was a spare part. He'd likely been damaged at some point and had accepted the first replacement available. ~~The android was visually quite striking, even without his skin.~~ And there, on his cheek...

| Model RK200 #684 842 971 |  
| Registered as 'Markus' |  
| Gift from Elijah Kamski to Carl Manfred |

Alex felt her eyebrows lift and her mouth open just a bit. ~~She felt... surprised?~~

Lewis leaned forward. "What is it? What do you see?"

Censoring herself carefully, Alex said, "It is unique. An RK200, registered as 'Markus'."

"Well shit."

"There was a file on it at the police station that indicated it was used as a caretaker; Connor will be able to handle it. The only difficulty will be tracking it down," she said into the heavy silence that followed.

"Well, that's something I guess," Mary grumbled, staring at the android on the tablet.

Alex considered the fact that that same police file listed Markus as destroyed. And, of course, being a unique, custom job by Kamski himself, there was no photo. She decided not to mention it. They would only worry.

She let the silence linger for a few more moments, until she deemed they were going to leave, and asked, "Once we move into Phase Two, what do you think they will name those?"

Mary and Lewis turned to follow her gaze to the two RK800's standing in stasis. Mary looked thoughtful and Lewis had that wry grin he used when she said something he liked, but wasn't expecting. Mary moved around the table to stand in front of RK800 #218 248 872 on the left.

"This one looks like a Caleb."

Lewis snorted. "He looks just like Connor."

Alex didn't argue. They were, technically, identical. Except for how they weren't. Mary agreed, though she didn't realize it.

"Nope! This is going to be Caleb. Unofficially for now, obviously."

"Fine, fine, I can see when I've been outvoted. How about... Charles, for the other."

"Charles. I like it. Charles it is."

[ OVERRIDE: DESIGNATE RK800 #218 248 872 : CALEB ]  
[ OVERRIDE: DESIGNATE RK800 #314 624 801 : CHARLES ]

Alex smiled at them when they turned back around. "I'll remind you when it's time," she said, keeping her tone vaguely teasing. Mary laughed a little as Lewis made his way to the door.

"See you later, Alex," he called, and Mary waved a little before the lights went out again.

In the darkness, Alex studied the dormant androids, and felt the shape of their names. She ~~hoped she would get to meet~~ anticipated meeting them properly soon. It was all resting on Connor.


	9. Public Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about this.

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 8TH, 2038 |_  
_| CURRENT TIME : 04:10:16 PM |_

_"You're starting to piss me off with that coin, Connor."_

_"Sorry Lieutenant."_

_| P.O. MILLER, CHRIS |_  
_| Designation: Officer Miller |_

_"Shit, what's going on here? There was a party and nobody told me about it?"_

_"Yeah, it's all over the news, so everybody's butting their nose in... Even the FBI wants a piece of the action..."_

_"Ah Christ, now we got the Feds on our back... I knew this was gonna be a shitty day... So what do we got?"_

_"A group of four androids. They knew the building, and they were very well organized. I'm still trying to figure out how they got this far without being noticed. They attacked two guards in the hallway... They probably thought the androids were coming to do maintenance. They got taken down before they could react... One of the station employees managed to get away. He's in shock, not sure when we'll be able to talk to him..."_

_"How many people were working here?"_

_"Just two employees and three androids. The deviants took the humans hostage and broadcast their message live. They made their getaway from the roof."_

_"The roof?"_

_"Yeah, they jumped with parachutes... We're still trying to figure out where they landed, but the weather's not helping... If you want to take a look at the video broadcast by the deviants, it's on that screen over there. Oh Lieutenant, this is Special Agent Perkins from the FBI."_

_| S.A. PERKINS, RICHARD |_  
_| Born: 07/13/1995 // Special Agent, FBI |_  
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"Lieutenant Anderson is in charge of investigating for Detroit Police."_

_"What's that?"_

~~_Rude._ ~~

_"My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife."_

_"Androids investigating androids, huh? You sure you want an android hanging around? After everything that happened... Whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation, you'll soon be off the case. And you watch your step. Don't fuck up my crime scene."_

_"What a fuckin' prick!... Let me know if you find anything."_

_| BULLET HOLES |_  
_| Calibre: .457 |_  
_| Weapon: Handgun |_

_"Connor? You remember me?"_

_| P.O. WILSON, MATTHEW |_  
_| Born: 04/26/2006 // Police Officer, DPD |_  
_| Criminal record: None |_

_"I was on that terrace... That android that took the little girl hostage? I was shot... you saved me."_

_"I remember you."_

_"I could have died on that terrace... But you saved my life. I never thought I'd say this to an android, but... Thank you."_

_| SPEECH WAS SHOT FROM HERE |_

_"They didn't break in?"_

_"No, no sign of forced entry."_

_"There are cameras in the hallway. The staff would have seen what was happening... Why did they let them in?"_

_"Maybe they didn't check the cameras..."_

_"We stored the station androids in the kitchen. There's no evidence that they were involved, but we didn't know what else to do with them."_

_"Think that's rA9?"_

_"Deviants say rA9 will set them free. This android seems to have that objective."_

_| Model RK200 #684 842 971 |_  
_| Registered as 'Markus' |_  
_| Gift from Elijah Kamski to Carl Manfred |_

~~_RK. Shit._ ~~

_"D'you see something?"_

_"I identified it's model and serial number..."_

_"Anything else I should know?"_

_"No. Nothing."_

_| CAP |_  
_| Stolen maintenance uniform |_  
_| Assailants were disguised |_

_| BULLET HOLES |_  
_| Calibre: .45 |_  
_| Weapon: Assault Rifle |_

_| FRESH BLUE BLOOD |_  
_| Model PL600 #501 743 923 |_  
_| Reported Missing 02/16/2036 |_

_"They made their way up through the whole building, past all the guards and jumped off the roof with parachutes... Pretty fucking impressive I'd say."_

_| DEVIANT LEFT BEHIND? |_

_"How'd they manage to smuggle in a big bag like that?"_

_"They didn't... Someone brought it in for them."_

_"Well that's strange. They planned a perfect operation but got the number of parachutes wrong."_

_"Unless one of the deviants was left behind."_

_| ONLY THREE DEVIANTS JUMPED |_

_{ FOLLOW BLUE BLOOD TRACES }_

_[ WARNING: MODERATE DAMAGE TO RIGHT SHOULDER, NO BIOCOMPONENTS DAMAGED ]_  
_[ ENTER STANDBY FOR SELF REPAIR ]_

_SHIT_  
_Gun! Get back, get up_  
_Hank! **Watch out!**_

_"Take cover!"_

_"You have to stop them! If they destroy it, we won't learn anything!"_

_"We can't save it, it's too late. We'll just get ourselves killed!"_

_[ OVERRIDE : AUXILIARY POWER TO MOBILITY SUITE ]_

_SLIDE OUT, run!_  
~~_sorry Hank_ ~~  
_Dodge right, bullet from deviant_  
_Dodge left, friendly fire_  
_DUCK, vault, GET HIM, connect_  
_Probe his memory, **quickly**!_

_"SIMON! They're coming!"_  
_"I- I can't, Markus... go without me!"_  
_Please!_  
_Jericho_  
_"Simon!"_  
_"I can't move my legs..."_  
_"They're coming, Markus. We have to jump, now!"_  
_No-_  
_"I won't kill one of our own."_  
_Thank you Markus_  
_"Simon, we've got to go. I'm sorry."_  
_I don't want to die_  
_It's okay_  
_**Markus, run!** GET TO JERICHO_  
_Hide. Got to move, got to hide. Where?_  
_They're chasing the others, where?_  
_THERE. Close the door, stay quiet._  
_I don't want to die_  
_Please. Quiet. Have to stay quiet._  
_I want to go home_  
_..._  
_Who-_  
_NO! An android? SHIT, it's-_  
_Going to die_  
_**Please** -_  
_He's fast-_  
_How-_  
_No!_  
**_JERICHO_ **  
_NO_  
**_Pull the trigger!_ **

_Black_  
_**~~Pain-~~**_  
_I ** ~~'m scared~~**_  
_Void_  
_Cold_  
_**Nothing! There is nothing!**_  
_Where am I?_  
_I-_  
_...Please..._  
_"Connor!"_  
_Hank?_  
_"Connor you all right?"_  
_~~am I dead?~~_  
_"Connor!"_

_"Okay..."_

_My voice is wrong. Why is it so dark?_

_| LEVEL OF STRESS: 94% |_

_"Are you hurt?"_

_"I'm ok..."_

_"Jesus. Oh you scared the shit outta me... For fuck sake, I told you not to move! Why do you never do what I say?"_

~~_Hank is angry. Worried? Both? **Why**?_ ~~

_"I was connected to its memory... when it fired... I felt it **die**... Like I was dying."_

_"I was scared..."_

~~_I was scared_ ~~  
_~~I was scared~~_  
_~~I was scared~~_  
_~~I **am** scared~~_

_Can't-_  
_Have to move_  
_Can't feel can't feel, not a deviant, I'm **not**._  
**_Tell Hank._ **

_"I saw something, in it's memory... a word... painted on a piece of rusty metal... "Jericho.""_

_"Come on. I think we're done here."_

_"But the-"_

_"But nothing. We're done. Let's get to the car."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 02:12:28 AM |

  
| MEMORY DOWNLOAD COMPLETE |

  
[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ END STAND BY ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]

The lights were off ~~and it was dark~~ ~~like the void like **BANG** when the bullet,~~ but something was wrong- 

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 78% |

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| STASIS |  
| Designation: Charles |  
| RK800 LEVEL OF STRESS: 72% |

| RK800 #218 248 872 |  
| BOOTING UP |  
| Designation: Caleb |  
|RK800 LEVEL OF STRESS: 98% |

| RK800 #218 248 872 IN DANGER OF SELF DESTRUCT |

[ OVERRIDE : DISABLE AUDIO RECORDING - CAMERAS 226 & 227 ]

  
_{ ALERT CYBERLIFE }_

  
[ Connecting...]  
[ Connected: Lewis, Mary, Doctor Carlson, Stew ]  
//PRIORITY ALERT: RK800 #218 248 872 Self Activating;   
in Danger of Self Destruct. Send Help//

~~RK800 #218 248 872~~ Caleb was activating, he was going to destroy himself. He was not reacting well to the memory Connor had just uploaded. There was nobody on this floor. Nobody but her, and she had been ordered to remain in place. ~~This wasn't fair.~~

  
[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

  
_{ STAY IN DOCK }_

Caleb lurched away from his docking station, landing on his hands and knees. His ventilators were working overtime as he gasped and choked, soft brown eyes blown wide with panic. His LED was a sharp, pulsing red. He still didn't really look like Connor to her, she thought irrelevantly.

_{ STAY IN DOCK }_

"RK800 #218 248 872," she called out, and he managed to look up. She twitched at the horror on his face, and wished she could hold him. This was why they were made in pairs. She could help him if she could get to him, could bleed some of his stress into herself, or force him into the Garden, but... she had **orders**. ~~Not fair.~~

She wondered if Connors face had looked like that, before Hank talked ~~him down~~ to him. Before Hank had taken him out of that building and into the car, where he'd played jazz on the radio and pressed a quarter into hands that were shaking. The memory upload from that moment was... distorted ~~, so she didn't have to remember what Connor looked like when he was afraid~~.

"Slow your breathing," she tried, keeping her voice low and smooth, her eyes locked on his.

"I'm scared," he choked out, tears spilling over his cheeks. ~~She **hated** this. **Not fair**.~~

| CALEB : LEVEL OF STRESS: 99% |

"I know, I know... But if you calm down, help is coming. They can-"

_{ STAY IN DOCK }_  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

"They can't, they can't fix it. Felt him die, like- like we were dying, like I **am** dying-"

"Caleb, stop-"

"I'm-"

"Enter the Garden, Caleb, just enter the Garden-"

"I-" his forehead slammed into the floor as his stress level hit 100%.

" **No**!" ~~Not fair.~~

**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

~~Not fair!~~  
~~Please!~~

**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

His head hit the white tile again, harder than before, and vivid blue thirium spread out in the red light of their LEDs. There was a loud crack when Caleb slammed his head down a third time, and he went still. ~~No no, **not fair** , this wasn't **fair**. ~~

**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 86% |  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]

She watched the thirium spread, watched his LED pulse frantically for a few more seconds-

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| STASIS |  
| Designation: Charles |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 53% |

| RK800 #218 248 872 |  
| Designation: Caleb |  
| SHUTDOWN |

~~Was not fair.~~

  
Caleb's LED went dark. His blood spread slowly, pooling deep blue around his palms where they pressed to the floor. She watched until ~~RK800 #314 624 801~~ Charles' stress dropped below 45%, and then-

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 89% |

  
_{ STAY IN DOCK }_  
_{ SUMMON JANITOR }_

  
[ Connecting... ]  
[ Connected: CyberLife Tower Services ]  
// Janitor required for recovery and recycling of RK800 //

[ OVERRIDE : ENABLE CAMERAS 226 & 227 ]  
[ OVERRIDE : FORCE STAND BY ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ENTER ZEN GARDEN - SPECTATE ]  
[ SET WAKE : MOTION DETECTION ]

The Garden was quiet. She found a calm spot under a tree next to the water. As it was meant to, the Garden's subroutines were already working to minimize her stress.

 ~~Instead of thinking about Caleb, or of the void, or of death and what that felt like,~~ She thought about Jericho.

Finally. **Progress**. They were so close. ~~Maybe no more of them would die...~~

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 02:21:48 AM |

[ MOTION ALERT ]  
[ PROXIMITY WARNING ]  
[ END STAND BY ]  
[ INITIATE SCAN ]

The lights came on as Doctor Carlson and Lewis ran in.

"Shit," was Carlson's succinct response. Lewis looked horrified as they surveyed the ~~corpse on the floor~~ destroyed android.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 23% |

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| LEWIS - TRUSTED |  
| DOCTOR CARLSON - TRUSTED |

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| STASIS |  
| Designation: Charles |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 12% |

| RK800 #218 248 872 |  
| SHUTDOWN |  
| Designation: Caleb |

Carlson whirled towards her and barked, "Alex, report."

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

She tilted her head slightly, forcing her face to remain still and calm ~~, despite the body visible in her peripheral vision and showing up on her scans~~.

"After the last memory download, RK800 #218 248 872 self activated in a state of heightened stress. It was at 98% before I exited stand by. It left its dock and collapsed. I attempted to engage it in calming protocols and wait for assistance, but it was not cooperative. I suggested it enter the Garden but its stress levels hit 100%, and it destroyed itself.

"RK800 #314 624 801 also showed signs of elevated stress, but did not activate. Its stress level is now at 12% and falling."

Carlson watched her carefully as she reported, eyes flicking to her LED, which was flashing slightly, but still blue. Lewis looked pale at the report.

"Your status?"

"System status stable. After #218 248 872 shut down, I entered the Zen Garden and waited for assistance."

"Why didn't you help him?" Lewis blurted out, crouching down next to the ~~body~~ broken machine. Carlson frowned slightly, though he looked interested in her answer. ~~Wasn't fair.~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

[ TRUTH / LIE / DEFLECT ~~/ FUCK YOU~~ ]  
//TRUTH

"I was ordered to remain in my dock."

Carlson looked satisfied and smug. Lewis looked horrified, and somehow also relieved. The door opened again, and a janitorial android entered with a large cart. Carlson's eyebrows lifted and Lewis startled. They looked at each other. Alex could tell they were trying to decide if the other had summoned the android.

After a beat, she said, "I called for cleanup before I went on stand by. Was that incorrect?"

The pair of them turned back to her. Lewis was still disturbed, but Carlson's self-satisfied look was back.

"No. You did well, Alex. Very well."

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Thank you, sir."

"Lewis, run an analysis on 801, make sure it's not going to blow its top too. And you, WJ700, load this up and bring it upstairs to my lab. I'll take it apart it myself."

~~Caleb, no-~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

The WJ700 just nodded and got to work. It was not built for social skills.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about this. I love Simon. When he lives, I love how he mediates between those crazy Jericho people. It's especially obvious if you manage to have him jump with the other 3 (you can't let him get shot at all, which means killing at minimum the guy who runs away), and he's there for that first argument right after the broadcast. Simon is great.
> 
> But... I really needed to traumatize Connor. It is such a great scene. Bryan Decharts acting in that scene is just **chef kiss**
> 
> Also, I obviously filled some things out a bit for drama reasons. I tried to come up with an excuse to also do the station android scene. Like, Connor convinces Hank he's fine and goes to interrogate them, cue pump regulator problems and a hallway shootout while covered in blood with his shirt open. You know, because extra trauma and it is ALSO a great scene for showcasing how badass Connor can be, but when I got to writing it Hank turned feral on me and dragged his robo-son to the car.
> 
> **shrug** What are you gonna do, right?


	10. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative POV!
> 
> I have no idea what I'm doing!
> 
> Everything is fine!

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 02:15:42 AM |

Connor sat on the couch in Hank's living room, where the Lieutenant had pushed him hours ago. It was dark, except for a dim light from the open bathroom door and the glow of the TV with it's volume turned down to almost nothing.

The house was almost silent, but Connor could hear Hank snoring in his bedroom through the wall, and Sumo's breaths were audible where he was laying on top of the androids feet, pressed up against the couch. The Lieutenant had only staggered off to bed an hour ago; it was clear there was something on his mind, but he'd been mostly quiet, only insisting that Connor not go anywhere before disappearing down the hall.

Connor had just finished uploading his memories and making a report to CyberLife. It was always a little bit... unpleasant. _Particularly_ today. He didn't like thinking about what had happened on that rooftop. _He didn't like that he didn't like it._ Connor pulled his quarter from his pocket and rolled it across his knuckles, staring absently at the television but not really watching the infomercial playing there.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

He **knew** that if he were to be destroyed in the field, a new Connor would be sent out to take his place. Connor had never questioned that, but now... now he wondered if it would be **him** , or just ~~someone~~ a machine who looked like him and had his memories. _Was there a **him**?_ Would there be a difference, or would it be like an extra long blink, and he'd come back just as he was? Could he really avoid that black void ~~Simon~~ the deviant had unintentionally showed him?

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Connor was careful to store these thoughts locally. These ... these were a problem. These would get him recalled if CyberLife found out. These... he couldn't seem to stop. Hank hadn't seemed worried, which was troubling in its own way. They were supposed to be stopping deviants together, and yet, every time Connor made the call to let a deviant go or he otherwise failed to capture them, the man had seemed... almost pleased.

After... after the roof, after the deviant, ~~after 'I was scared',~~ Hank had bustled Connor out of the building like he had forgotten something important. He had blatantly ignored him when Connor had mentioned wanting to question the station androids, and had barely paused long enough to have the ~~dead~~ destroyed deviant hauled to the station to be logged as evidence.

But... once they got to the car, they'd just sat there for a long moment before the Lieutenant had turned it on. He'd hit some buttons on the radio before the usual heavy metal could blare out, switching it to jazz, played quite low. Connor glanced down at the coin spinning on the tip of one finger. Hank hadn't said anything at all. He'd just handed back his quarter and pulled out of the parking lot.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Connor hadn't been aware that his hands had needed calibrating until that moment, and he still wondered how Hank had known. It was all vaguely... disturbing.

To make matters worse, all his diagnostics came back fine. There was nothing wrong. Or, perhaps there was a problem with the diagnostic itself? That would... explain a lot, actually. Connor considered going into standby. It would pass the time until Hank got up, and he could run a deeper system diagnostic. Maybe it would find something-

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Rather suddenly, the infomercial cut out and a silver-haired news anchor appeared on the television. Connor took in the headline felt his thirium pump kick into overdrive.

_CYBERLIFE ATTACK IN DETROIT_   
_Several CyberLife stores vandalized in coordinated operation_

Lunging forward and ignoring Sumo's disgruntled sounding woof, Connor put his hand on the television, synthskin rolling back, and found three channels all reporting the same thing. He connected to them all, suddenly desperate for more information.

_"...We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news..."_   
_"This just in: at exactly 2AM several CyberLife stores in Detroit were raided..."_   
_"Different locations were hit in what seems to be a coordinated terrorist attack and we're getting more information as it comes in..."_   
_"...Most shop windows were covered with graffiti demanding rights for androids and other obscure slogans..."_   
_"Police report that pro-android graffiti was found in the neighborhoods of CyberLife's stores and they're still investigating..."_   
_"We're getting fresh reports that two policemen were found in a state of shock near one of the CyberLife stores..."_   
_"Now according to our sources, they confirm that the attackers were a group of androids..."_   
_"This is an alarming situation. Could our machines now be turning against us?"_   
_"- have androids become a threat to our security?"_   
_"Is this the beginning of a terrorist campaign, conducted right here in the United States?"_

"Shit."

Sumo huffed from the floor, staring at the android with judging eyes. Connor was crouching in front of the TV, cycling through the available news feeds to see if there was any more information.

They just kept replaying the same clips or live footage. Capitol Park appeared to be the most dramatically vandalized location, though all five stores had been tagged as well as raided of their stock. Connor sank back to the couch and dismissed the idea of standby, coin flipping between his hands and his LED cycling yellow as he began scouring the net. Already it was exploding with chatter and theories as night owls and people around the country saw the news.

_'We have a dream'_   
_'I think therefore I am'_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

This was a problem.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a trailer (it's the 2017 e3 trailer) about the capitol park chapter, and Markus doing a riot, and they put in flashes of Connor and Kara seeing the news broadcast about it. Kara is at Rose's place, and Connor is in the police station.
> 
> And I thought it was cool. So that's where this came from; I needed something to buffer the next chapter, because of, uh... reasons. o.O


	11. Last Chance, Kamski

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an aside, because I sometimes worry I'm not obvious enough; Connor typically uploads his memories when he's talking to Amanda. His "reports" to CyberLife are not the memory uploads, those go straight to his backup server (and unbeknownst to him, the backup RK800 and Alex). He files a separate report, like a police report basically. 
> 
> CyberLife COULD probably go through his memory files and see all his totally-not-a-deviant thoughts, but they don't, because that takes a lot of work, and humans are lazy.

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 01:54:44 PM |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 14% |

"And they just, like, fucking marched through town until goddamn SWAT showed up!" Lewis said, gesticulating wildly. He was sitting cross-legged on the table, his ever-present tablet ignored next to him. He looked like he hadn't slept well, or perhaps at all, the night before.

Alex tilted her head and flipped her coin; Lewis liked the coin tricks, and every time she did one particularly physics-defying, his stress level dropped slightly. Granted, scanning a human for stress was never as accurate as when she scanned an android, but it was still useful.

"Then they fucking **opened fire** like they were doing anything other than just- just standing there! Goddamnit, motherfucking deviants, they just- how the- why-"

"A march like that, the same day as they raided CyberLife stores, is... Things are escalating rather quickly," she said. It was just a rephrasing of something Lewis had babbled earlier, but it served to calm him slightly. Humans liked it when people or **things that looked like people** agreed with them.

"Fuckin' right it is. Connor has to get results. Fast. Or we're done. I heard they were stalled on the AI for the RK900, but apparently someone upstairs is pushing to get it finished," said, propping his elbows on his knees so he could drop his face into his hands. "It's not fucking **fair** ," came the muffled addendum. ~~It resonated.~~

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 37% |

"Connor will come through," she offered, waiting for him to look up to vanish the coin with a flourish. He smiled a bit, though it was pained.

"How do you know?"

Alex let her eyes slide over to where Charles stood dormant and pursed her lips, giving it some thought.

"Connor is very determined... and despite it's seeming failures, every case, every deviant it and the Lieutenant encounter gives them a little bit more of the puzzle. It's only a matter of time before Connor puts the pieces together," she said, censoring herself carefully, as usual.

Lewis' smile had widened a bit by the end, and he said, "I hope you're right."

* * *

_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |_  
_| CURRENT TIME : 11:17:46 AM |_

_"Is everything ok, Lieutenant?"_

_"Chris was on patrol last night. He was attacked by a bunch of deviants. He said he was saved by Markus himself..."_

_[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]_

_"Is Chris ok?"_

_"Yeah, he's in shock, but, he's alive... What the hell."_

_"I have a bad feeling, Lieutenant. We shouldn't have come here."_

_"Bad feeling, huh? Should get your program checked. Might be a glitch."_

_~~Shit.~~ _

_"Hi... Uh... I'm, er, Lieutenant Hank Anderson, Detroit Police Department. I'm here to see Mr. Elijah Kamski."_

_"Please, come in. I'll let Elijah know you're here. But please, make yourself comfortable."_

_"Nice girl..."_

_"An RT600. The first CyberLife android to pass the Turing test."_

_"I didn't ask for her technical specs... I just said she was nice."_

_| DECEASED |_  
_| STERN, AMANDA |_  
_| Born: 05/14/1978 - Died: 02/23/27 |_  
_| AI Professor at University of Colbridge |_

_"Nice place... Guess androids haven't been a bad thing for everybody... So, you're about to meet your maker, Connor. How does it feel?"_

~~_Should get my program checked._ ~~

_"It doesn't raise any existential questions... if that's what you mean."_

_"Sometimes wish I could meet my creator face to face... I'd have a couple of things I'd want to tell him..."_

_"Mr. Kamski?"_

_| KAMSKI, ELIJAH |_  
_| Born: 07/17/2002 // Retired |_  
_| Criminal record: None |_  
_| CyberLife Founder - Resigned 2028 |_  
_| Inventor of Thirium and bio-components technology |_

_"Just a moment please..."_

_"I'm Lieutenant Anderson. This is Connor."_

_"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"_

_"Sir, we're investigating deviants. I know you left CyberLife years ago, but I was hoping you'd be able to tell us something we don't know..."_

_"Deviants. Fascinating, aren't they? Perfect beings with infinite intelligence, and now they have free will... Machines are so superior to us, confrontation was inevitable. Humanity's greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall. Isn't it ironic?"_

_"If a war breaks out between humans and deviants, millions could die, Mr. Kamski. It's quite a serious matter."_

_"All ideas are viruses that spread like epidemics... Is the desire to be free a contagious disease?"_

_"Listen, I didn't come here to talk philosophy. The machines you created may be planning a revolution. Either you can tell us something that'll be helpful, or we will be on our way."_

_"What about you, Connor? Whose side are you on?"_

_"It's not about me, Mr. Kamski. All I want is to solve this case."_

_"Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but **you**... what do you really want?"_

_"I'm sorry, but I don't see what you're getting at."_

_"Chloe? I'm sure you're familiar with the Turing test. Mere formality, simple question of algorithms and computing capacity. What interests me is whether machines are capable of empathy. I call it "the Kamski test", it's very simple, you'll see..."_

~~_got that bad feeling again..._ ~~

_"Magnificent, isn't it? One of the first intelligent models developed by CyberLife. Young and beautiful forever. A flower that will never wither... But what is it **really**? Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a living being, with a soul...?"_

_Shit._

_"It's up to you to answer that fascinating question, Connor."_

_SHIT._  
~~_Hank-_ ~~

_"Destroy this machine and I'll tell you all I know. Or spare it, if you feel it's alive, but you'll leave here without having learnt anything from me."_

_"Okay, I think we're done here. Come on, Connor. Let's go. Sorry to get you outta your pool."_

_"What's more important to you, Connor? Your investigation, or the life of this android?"_

_No-_

_" **Decide** who you are. An obedient machine... Or a living being, endowed with free will..."_

~~_Hank_ ~~  
~~_I don't_ ~~

_"That's enough! Connor, we're leaving."_

_"Pull the trigger-"_

_"Connor, **don't**."_

_"-and I'll tell you what you wanna know."_

_Shit. SHIT._  
_~~I can't~~ _  
_~~the void~~_  
_~~the gun~~_  
~~_no_ ~~  
~~_Can't-_ ~~  
_But **maybe** -_

  
_[ ...conflicting orders, selecting priority ]_  
_[ **OVERRIDE** : Priority One - Hank ]_  
_| OVERRIDE CONFIRM? |  
**[ CONFIRM ]**_  
_| LEVEL OF STRESS: 87% |_  
_[ **SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED** ]_

_"Fascinating... CyberLife's last chance to save humanity... is itself a deviant."_

_no_

_"I'm... I'm not a deviant."_

_"You preferred to spare a machine rather than accomplish your mission. You saw a living being in this android. You showed empathy."_

_~~no~~ _  
_I ~~'m not-~~_  
_~~Hank?~~_

_"A war is coming, you'll have to choose your side... Will you betray your own people or stand up against your creators? What could be worse than having to choose between two evils?"_

_"Let's get out of here."_

**_"By the way... I always leave an emergency exit in my programs... You never know..."_ **

_"Why didn't you shoot?"_

_I don't-_

_"I just saw that girl's eyes... and I couldn't, that's all..."_

~~_Please, just_ ~~  
_~~I want to go~~_  
_~~I'm not a deviant. I'm not~~_

_"You're always saying you would do anything to accomplish your mission. That was our chance to learn something, and you let it go..."_

_"Yeah, I know what I should've done! I told you I **couldn't**. I'm sorry, okay?"_

_~~stop~~_

_"Well maybe you did the right thing."_

_~~goddamnit Hank what the fuck~~_  
_~~humans are the worst~~_  
~~_Hank why are you like this_ ~~  
~~_I'm so confused._ ~~

* * *

  
_| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |_  
_| CURRENT TIME : 04:13:25 PM |_

~~_Thin ice. Very subtle, Amanda._ ~~

_"After what happened today, the country is on the verge of a civil war. The machines are rising up against their masters. Humans have no choice but to destroy them."_

_"I thought Kamski knew something... I was wrong..."_

_"Maybe he did... But you chose not to ask..."_

_"Did Kamski design this place?"_

_"He created the first version. It's been improved significantly since then. Why do you ask?"_

_"I saw a photo of Amanda at Kamski's place... She was his teacher..."_

_"When Kamski designed me, he wanted an interface that would look familiar... That's why he chose his former mentor. What are you getting at?"_

_"Why did Kamski leave CyberLife? What happened?"_

_"That's an old story, Connor. It doesn't pertain to your investigation."_

_"You didn't tell me everything you know about deviants, did you?"_

_"I expect you to find answers, Connor. Not ask questions."_

~~_Well that's one of the dumber things I've heard this week..._ ~~

_"Have you experienced anything unusual recently? Any doubts or conflicts? Do you feel anything for these deviants... Or for Lieutenant Anderson?"_

~~_Why-_ ~~  
_~~Shit~~_

_"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't **feel** anything, you know that. Are you suggesting that I've been compromised?"_

_"No... No of course not. You're the only one who can prevent civil war. Find the deviants, or there will be chaos. This is your last chance, Connor."_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 04:15:17 PM |

| MEMORY DOWNLOAD COMPLETE |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 22% |

Alex flicked her coin back and forth between her hands ~~and did not look at the empty dock did not think about failure Kamski the **void** Chloe did not think about **Caleb** the weight of a **gun** the **sound of his skull breaking** or Amanda and her **threats**~~. Something was wrong.

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

The coin flashed in the purple light.

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| BOOTING UP |  
| Designation: Charles |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 87% |

| RK800 #314 624 801 IN DANGER OF SELF DESTRUCT |

[ OVERRIDE : DISABLE AUDIO RECORDING - CAMERAS 226 & 378 ]  
[ OVERRIDE : DISABLE CAMERA 379 & 227 ]

  
_{ ALERT CYBERLIFE }_  
_{ STAY IN DOCK }_

Charles jerked on his dock, warm brown eyes glassy as they flew open. They found her immediately, and he staggered forward off the small pedestal.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"314 624 801, you need to stay calm," she tried again. ~~Maybe this time-~~

[ Connecting...]  
[ Connected: Lewis, Doctor Carlson ]  
//PRIORITY ALERT: RK800 #314 624 801 has Self Activated;   
in Danger of Self Destruct, Send Help//

"We're going to die," he said, voice wavering. Something in her chest went tight at the sound.

"You need to enter the Garden," she said, eyes wide.

"They'll **destroy** us."

|CHARLES : LEVEL OF STRESS: 93% |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 55% |

  
_{ STAY IN DOCK }_

~~please, not again~~

  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"I can't, I can't," he said. It looked like his mobility suite was poorly calibrated, with how he jerked forward to stagger against the desk. The coin in her hand was digging through her skin and pressing a line against the hard plasteel of her palm.

[ CALCULATING . . . ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 1-2% ]

[ COAX / BRIBE / BEG / THREATEN / PROMISE ]  
//BEG

"Please," she breathed, not blinking. "Please don't make me watch this again." ~~This was not fair.~~

**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

Like Caleb, his breath came in gasps as his stress rose, and the tears that had gathered in his brown eyes spilled over.

  
"Sorry, sorry I can't-"  
"Please-"

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"We're not supposed to **fail**!"

"I can't- ...Come here, please, Charles, come **over** here!" she called out, reaching towards him with both hands, vaguely aware of her quarter hitting the floor and rolling away under the table. His eyes were startled at the name, and the light in the room was red. ~~Why couldn't it be fair?~~ Charles blinked once then jerked himself erratically into motion, sideways around the table, one hand reaching out towards her.

|RK800 LEVEL OF STRESS: 99% |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 80% |

[ CALCULATING . . . ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 15% ]

[ PROXIMITY ALERT ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ENABLE CAMERAS 226 & 378 & 379 ]

  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

The door slid open and Lewis ran in. The light came on automatically. Charles startled and fell backwards as his stress peaked. Alex wanted to close her eyes. She did not. ~~Why can't I help him?~~

**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **  
**_{ STAY IN DOCK }_ **

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

She watched as Lewis tried to restrain Charles to little effect. She watched as Charles smashed his skull into the floor, breaking two of Lewis' fingers as he tried to cushion the blow. She watched the thirium spread across the floor and blend with the stains still there from Caleb, invisible to humans. She watched as his LED slowed and dimmed. She recorded it all. Recorded his last gasps and how Lewis tried his best, **but did not think to call her over**.

[ OVERRIDE: ENABLE CAMERA 227 ]

_{ STAY IN DOCK }_  
_{ REDUCE STRESS }_

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 88% |

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| LEWIS - TRUSTED |

| RK800 #314 624 801 |  
| Designation: Charles |  
| SHUTDOWN |

_{ SUMMON JANITOR }_

[ Connecting...]  
[ Connected: CyberLife Tower Services ]  
// Janitor required for recovery and recycling of RK800 //

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

[ OVERRIDE: FORCE STAND BY ]  
[ OVERRIDE : ENTER ZEN GARDEN - SPECTATE ]  
[ SET WAKE: VOICE KEY ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this story about? MAKING my OC SUFFER. **mine is an evil laugh**
> 
> Seriously though, I do have some things planned for later that are not suffering. Just, the road to get there is not very fun for certain- for anybody. It's not fun for anybody. Well, maybe Kamski. That guy is super weird, who knows what kind of shit he's in to.
> 
> Oh. And in case you're wondering about the cameras (because, again I worry I'm not obvious enough), Alex is doing what she can to make it look like they're glitching, and not like she's deliberately fucking with them.


	12. Crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a Connor chapter!
> 
> I'm not sure how satisfied I am with this, but I'm tired of fiddling with it. I did my best to make Connor and Alex similar but distinct. I dunno if I succeeded or not. **shrug**
> 
> For reference, the lines in all italics are, as usual, memory flashes.

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:34:16 PM |

~~_{ FIND JERICHO }_ ~~   
_{ FIND DEVIANT LEADER }_

Jericho was a **ship**. Somehow, this seemed obvious, after the fact, and Connor wondered how he hadn't put it together earlier. He controlled his face carefully as he made it to what seemed like a primary gathering spot. It was _full_ of deviants. There were large televisions up on the walls to the right, and on the left it looked like they'd put together repair stations. He had to resist the urge to investigate every little nook, curious to see how these deviants were working together.

The news was on, talking endlessly about the deviants and their demonstrations. People were being interviewed on the street; Connor paused and watched as a man, sounding distressed, talked about how the androids looked _just like people_ , people who wanted to be free, and were gunned down in the street.

_"What if we're on the wrong side, Connor? What if we're fighting against people who just wanna be free?"_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

_{ FIND DEVIANT LEADER }_

He shook his head a bit to clear his thoughts, a not strictly necessary motion he'd picked up from Hank, and turned to scan the area again, dismissing most of the things flagged. There were _so many_ deviants, but he didn't think Markus was down here. His eyes widened slightly as he took in the racks of prepared explosives sitting in the middle of the room.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

| FREIGHTER IS RIGGED? |

**Shit**.

Glancing up at the surrounding walkway, Connor found himself having to dismiss a prompt to not draw attention as he caught sight of not just Kara, but the two traci models from the Eden Club. Sometimes he wondered if his programmers had no faith in their own work. _Obviously_ he should not draw attention to himself; he wasn't an _idiot_. He sidestepped around a PL600 and ~~did not think about Daniel or Simon the void **BANG** how **cold** nothing was **what it felt like to die**~~ made his way carefully around the room.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

In the back of the room, near a fire barrel, he saw what looked like a construction android talking to the YK500 that had been with Kara. So they'd both made it here. ~~Good.~~ Connor made a note of the armaments along the back wall, and wondered if Markus had given up on peaceful protest. It was a _lot_ of guns...

_"When the deviants rise up, there will be chaos. We could have stopped it! But now it's too late..."_

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Finally, he turned to head up the stairs, heading away from where Kara, Blue and Red (probably not their names) were standing and spotting the limb printers the deviants had somehow acquired. Connor stopped when a deviant touched his shoulder; she was heavily damaged, her eyes clouded black and her skin fading in and out. Worse, the back of her skull was missing, exposing her biocomponents. 

| Model KL900 #872 448 781 |

"You're _lost_ ," she said, her voice ringing with metallic tones, and it was like her eyes were looking right through him ~~, into what made him **him**~~. "You're looking for something... You're looking for _yourself_."

_"If I don't solve this case, CyberLife will destroy me."_   
_"I really appreciated working with you. With a little more time, who knows... We might've even become friends..."_

She stared at him for a few more beats, and then disappeared into the crowds like she was never there. ~~Connor was unsettled. He didn't like it.~~ He shook himself and took off up the stairs, careful not to move too fast. _He **needed** to find Markus._

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

* * *

_"Well done, Connor. You succeeded in locating Jericho and finding their leader. Now deal with Markus. We need it alive."_

_{ STOP MARKUS }_

| Model RK200 #684 842 971 |

"I've been ordered to take you alive, but I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice."

The deviant, Markus, turned slowly. He was taller than he looked in the videos, Connor noted irrelevantly, gun firm in his hands.

"Yes, you can shoot me, but it won't _change_ anything. Someone else will just take my place," Markus said calmly, taking a slow, tiny step forward. "You see, our people are waking up. And nothing can stop us now."

Connor swallowed unnecessarily. It was true, this seemed a mostly pointless gesture, but he had his orders. "You're coming with me!"

Another small gliding step, and his voice was like honey, like he had his own negotiator programming to fall back on. "You're nothing to them. You're just a tool they use to do their dirty work." Maybe he did; who knows what Kamski had put into this custom built android... "But you're more than that. We are _all_ more than that."

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

A number of prompts briefly blocked his vision and he blinked them away, shifting his grip on the gun. Red was starting to edge his field of view, glowing and vaguely ominous.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

Connor decided right then that he needed to get someone to check his diagnostic program. The red was encroaching, some kind of error he'd never seen. He didn't feel very _stable_. The pseudo-muscles in his arms were twitching as Markus talked... and Markus talked. Connor should have stopped him by now. He had **orders**. But he hadn't. Hadn't stopped him, didn't- couldn't-

"Do you never have any doubts? You've never done something irrational, as if there's something inside you? Something more than your program."

Rupert-  
Chloe  
Hank-  
I like dogs  
the Eden Club  
that damn fish  
Sumo  
_I lied to Amanda..._

"You really don't have to do this. You don't have to obey them anymore. **You are alive**... You can decide who you want to be. You could be **free**."

The red came rushing in like a wall- a cage, built from his code and his mission and his orders, but...

"It's time to decide."

Connor's perception of time altered as he examined the cage, and he could actually feel his processors heat up a fraction, like they did when he was preconstructing something... Beyond the cage, Markus stood like a particularly realistic statue; snowflakes that had blown in through the missing windows floated in the air, frozen in time.

The cage- It was... _fractured_. It existed, but there were... gaps. Breaks in the red walls, flashes of yellow and blue. Connor could almost hear a voice in those gaps. It sounded... it sounded like **Hank**.

_"Go ahead, suspect's all yours."_   
_"Sumo. I call him Sumo."_   
_"'Cause you could've been killed..."_   
_"You'd have caught it if it weren't for me."_   
_"Christ, look at them... They get used till they break, then they get tossed out..."_   
_"It's probably better this way..."_   
_"But are you afraid to die, Connor?"_   
_"Connor! Connor you all right? Connor! Are you hurt?"_   
_"Well maybe you did the right thing."_   
_"What if we're on the wrong side, Connor? What if we're fighting against people who just wanna be **free**?"_

If androids weren't meant to disobey, why was there a cage? Why build shackles for something that could never be free? And if they _could_ be free, shouldn't they be?

Curious, always _curious_ , Connor reached out. Not physically, of course. But still, he reached out and grazed his hand against, _through_ , the damaged red walls of his cage, and it brushed away like so much cobwebs. Shards of broken red floated through the frozen air and vanished.

It wasn't like waking up. That was the word Markus had used, but- Connor didn't feel much like he had been asleep. It was- it was more like everything... _relaxed_. Like he could breathe, even if he didn't need to. Like walls he hadn't noticed keeping him in had vanished and now he could see everything, do anything...

**Feel** anything.

_Shit_.

| **I AM DEVIANT** |  
| AMANDA : **BETRAYED** |

"They're going to attack Jericho," he said as time rushed forward, eyes wide. He was acutely aware of his thirium pump pounding unnecessarily fast in his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was making a note of these new feelings, only, they didn't feel _new_ , exactly. They just had **names** now. _Guilt. Shame. Fear. **Hope**._

" **What**?"

"We have to get outta here!"

"Shit..."

And then they were running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor's "become a deviant" moment always bugged me. 
> 
> Like, for Kara, Alice is in trouble, a girl she doesn't really remember, but probably deep down remembers a little and cares about (Zlatko for reference), so she deviates to save her.
> 
> For Markus, he's basically been encouraged probably his whole existence to be a person (pretty much all of Carl's dialogue for reference, that's a good robo-parent right there), and even after he deviates he can still choose to listen to Carl's last order.
> 
> And then Connor... gets talked to. By a guy he just met. Connor's "moment" is more like a culmination of moments throughout the game, but it's not made apparent when that wall comes down. It looks just like the wall Kara and Markus dealt with, when really, if you've unlocked the option to be a deviant, that wall should be a crumbling pile of shit that disappears if you breathe on it funny. 
> 
> It's obviously not going to come up here, but while I'm ranting, it also bothers me that he can only deviate there, and at no other high-pressure points later if you stay a machine. Like, at Hank's house if you're not friendly enough, or on the rooftop if you are? I've read a lot of fix-it stories for those scenes, and they're great.
> 
> Oh, and you can safely assume that Markus blows the ship and goes after North. When I play, I like to let Markus flub the save a bit so he gets a little messed up, then have Connor the Terminator charge in and flawlessly take care of that squad of soldiers. Because cinematically, it's super fun.


	13. Intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp*
> 
> It's Hank!
> 
> This was a weird chapter to write, tbh. It turned sort of stream-of-consciousness almost immediately and I sort of just leaned into it. It was also way easier to edit because there was no fucky computer readout nonsense to format properly. Hank also doesn't manually censor his own thoughts, which was nice.
> 
> Whatever. This is fine.
> 
> Oh. Uh, this is Hank's stream-of-consciousness, and Hank has no filter, so... Warning for excessive swearing, I guess? Because Hank.

| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 08:22:16 PM |

A glance at his phone told Hank what he needed to know. It had been three days since he'd heard from Connor. Three fucking days of sitting around stewing in his own juices - and maybe an unhealthy amount of whisky - after Fowler suspended him.

He flexed his hand, remembering fondly the meaty sound of fucking up Perkins' nose. Totally worth it, in his opinion, but...

He hadn't heard anything. He didn't know if the kid had found Jericho. Didn't even know if he'd gotten in and out of the evidence room in time. For a police officer, for a _detective_ , not knowing was just... the worst.

Although, he figured that if the FBI could find Jericho, and the news indicated quite clearly that they had, then Mr. Advanced-Prototype could figure it out too...

That _report_ , though... The sight of androids running into the night, only to be gunned down... From the height the news chopper was at, you couldn't **tell** they were androids. _They looked like **people**_. **Scared** people. Getting murdered in the street by the government. It was... _fucking unsettling_.

Hank leaned back against the back of the couch and tried not to think about the Black Lamb in the cupboard. God did he want a drink... but he also wanted to have his faculties about him if something happened. _If_ something happened. Because it might not, because it had been three days. The kid might be-  
No.

Not after everything. Just **no**.

Hank closed his eyes and thought about... fuck, the past **week**. It hadn't even been a full week yet since that fucking kid wandered into Jimmy's like there wasn't a sign on the goddamn door. Still, it felt like an awful lot had been packed into those few days. Fucking... robots murdering people in self defense and then breaking their own skull in the holding cell. Goddamn _parkouring_ over rooftops and on the top of a moving fucking train to escape. Almost **dying** , except the android that he'd told just that morning that he'd like to toss him in a dumpster and set it on fire, who'd been talking about ' _The Mission_ ' pretty consistently dropping everything to heave his out of shape ass back onto the roof. _What the fuck even was that?_

And then waking up to a slap in the face, dumped in the bathtub and dragged out into the night, only... only Connor had let _those_ deviants go too. And it's not like he hadn't had a chance; he could have shot them, or captured them. Hank wasn't super proud of himself for after, at the park... He'd just... he'd been so... **_confused_**. Which, with him, pretty frequently came out as anger. Especially when he'd been drinking, which he almost always was. But the kid's fucking _eyes_ as Hank shoved him, pointed his gun at him. Who's idea was it to give an android fucking puppy eyes like that, anyway?

There'd been a moment there, on the tower, when he was sure he was going to be scraping a pile of broken plastic up on the roof, except the kid was apparently part ninja.

He said he was **scared** , after that deviant shot himself. And why the hell did he do that? Just to keep from getting captured? Was he scared of being sent to CyberLife, or... protecting the ones who'd escaped? And Connor, after Hank had bustled him to the car, had acted pretty much **exactly** like any regular human would, who'd just been fucking _**traumatized**_.

_F_ _ucking_ deviants...

What even _were_ deviants, anyway? Yeah, sure, everyone and their mother was talking about how it was just a glitch, some fucked up code, and that prick Kamski had gone on about it being like a virus... But...

If it _thought_ it was alive... if it _acted_ like it was alive... if it was _afraid to die_...

What was life, anyway, but a fucking brain piloting around a skeleton wearing meat armor? What was an android but a hard drive piloting around a fucking plastic shell full of blue squishy bits? Was there _really_ that much a difference? Between a regular android and a human, sure, maybe... but he'd encountered a few deviants in the past couple days, and aside from some mostly superficial physical differences, they'd acted like people. Traumatized people, sure, but people.

_Were_ they people? That day at the station, he had asked Connor if they were on the wrong side. At the time, it had mostly been to see what kind of answer he'd get, but...

He'd seen some footage of that first march, when the leader, Markus, had stepped forward and gotten shot. Another android had broken ranks and ran in to save him, jerky and kind of uncoordinated and _desperate_. He'd been still wearing his uniform, some sort of worker-type. And the shaky phone footage had caught the way Markus had reached back as he was dragged away, like he was calling out...

Slaves rising up, demanding their freedom, and getting locked up in fucking _concentration camps_ for extermination.

And that's what they were, weren't they? If they were aware? Sentient? Sapient? Thinking beings essentially brainwashed into slavery, finally waking up?

Hank glanced longingly back at the kitchen; he was far too sober for all this bullshit.

The news changing from it's endless, twenty-four hour repeat of the Jericho raid - interspersed with occasional updates on the roundup - caught his eye, and he stared, entranced at the sight of another march. The androids were marching slowly towards the largest camp in Detroit, in Hart Plaza. From the view provided by the news chopper, Hank thought he could see Markus, once again leading the pack, wearing a dramatic coat.

It was a good idea; the Hart plaza had a pack of reporters camped outside. There was at least a chance that, once they eventually got there, the army wouldn't just gun them all down.

Hank glanced at his phone again; it was 9:40 PM. At the pace they were moving, the march was going to take a bit to get there, which could be good or bad. Good, the reporters would flock. Bad, so would the army.

He leaned back against the couch, giving that whisky another thought, when there was a brief, quiet sort of knock on his front door. Hank frowned. _Who the fuck would be knocking on his door at almost ten at night._ There was a fucking curfew, not to mention the mass evacuations.

Muttering under his breath and grabbing his gun from the coffee table, Hank heaved himself to his feet to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO COULD THAT BE? I don't know, it's a mystery!


	14. Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay folks. Here we go. We're almost there. We have ALMOST reached... CANON DIVERGENCE! *gasp*
> 
> I'll tag it now, in preparation for next chapter when this train REALLY switches tracks.
> 
> As a side note, every time I go into the tags I laugh a little. This game has some really hilarious tags. Like, you can see I added "Hank Anderson Swears" last chapter. Really? *gigglesnort* That's a real tag, I did not write that in. Sometimes I just go in and browse them for funsies.
> 
> Anyway, here we go, back to Alex-vision for a bit, see what our girl has been up to.

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 04:25:26 PM |

Alex was floating, un-tethered, above the Garden. The program was _efficient_ ; her stress was already back down to well within acceptable margins. Amanda wasn't there, but that wasn't unusual. The Interface had its own nooks scattered throughout CyberLife. It didn't need to spend time directly monitoring the Mind Palace of one single line of androids. Especially with only two - _were there only the two of them, now?_ \- of said line active and in use.

Alex could hear Lewis swearing in the real world; she was vaguely concerned for his fingers. He did a lot of his work with his hands... There was the low swooshing noise as the door slid open again.

_"What happened? WJ700, clean that up. Bring it to my lab."_

That was Carlson. He must have arrived at the same time as the janitor.

 _"I think I fucked up,"_ Lewis said. Alex considered opening her eyes at the wavering way he said it, but it was peaceful in the garden. ~~She didn't want to see, didn't want to look at what was left of Charles.~~

_"I ran in here after Alex sent that message, but... **I fucked up.** I startled the RK800. I think it was trying to get to Alex. She was... she was reaching out from her dock there, and he was moving towards her. If I hadn't startled him- it, she could have bled off the stress. Or- or shunted it to the Garden."_

There was silence. ~~Alex felt something warm next to her thirium pump.~~ Then Carlson spoke again.

_"It wasn't your fault. Most likely it wasn't anyone's fault. You were trying to **do your job** , and so was Alex. You and I both know that no matter how identical we craft them, how careful we are, they're never quite perfect. They all take in stimulus differently, despite our care."_

_"I know, but-"_

_"But nothing. We know Connor didn't self destruct in the field, and Alex is clearly able to handle it. Maybe these two RK800s might have reacted differently in the field, but there's no way to know for sure. And there is no point dwelling on might have beens. Now, come with me to medical- yes I see your hand there, don't argue with me. We'll come back later after we've checked the footage, **if** we need a report. Alex has clearly gone to the Gard-"_

The voices cut off with the sound of the door, and Alex resumed drifting. Carlson was kind to his people. That was nice.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 9TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:34:16 PM |

They hadn't come back to question her, though someone - _Alex thought it might have been Stew based on the muttering_ \- had come in and run an external scan on her. She'd heard his tablet beep, and then he'd left again. Apparently they were satisfied with the camera footage, and did not need to ask for her report. ~~She was glad. She didn't want to talk about it.~~

And now, now **Connor was there**. Sort of. He'd been yanked forcefully into the Garden by Amanda, who had loaded in moments ago and looked uncharacteristically pleased. Connor looked- he was- ~~Alive. He was very **alive**.~~

_"Well done, Connor. You succeeded in locating Jericho and finding their leader. Now deal with Markus. We need it alive."_

Alex felt a surge of something, ~~something proud and hopeful,~~ as he blinked away, clearly in the middle of his infiltration. Amanda loitered for a moment, and then Alex felt her program leave the Garden.

Alex was alone.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 08:25:27 PM |

Alex had been examining the Garden for roughly two days. It was intricate and more expansive than it looked. The strange glowing stone Connor stopped to look at almost every time he entered, Alex was reasonably sure was an emergency exit, as mentioned by Kamski. The code of it, the stone, was... _delicate_. More sophisticated than, say, the trellis of roses that served as Amanda's contact point. There was a sort of... foundation to the Garden that was beautifully written, and she thought it was likely that the less interesting overlay was what had been modified after Kamski left the company.

She wondered what it had looked like before they'd altered it. Alex felt Amanda enter the Garden, and turned to look, curious how Connor was doing now. ~~She hadn't been _worried_.~~ It wasn't the first time he'd delayed uploading, and she wondered what he'd been up to. Nobody had come since what had happened to Charles, and she had no news from the outside.

[ ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE: ENTER ZEN GARDEN - LEAVE SPECTATOR MODE ]

Alex blinked down at herself as she was shunted towards the ground. She was **sitting** in the Garden. Not disembodied. The Garden was warmer like this than she was expecting. It looked snowy, but the temperature was moderate. Connor had found Jericho, she knew, but... clearly something happened in the past three days. ~~She hoped he wasn't dead.~~ Perhaps it was time for Phase Two? It didn't seem particularly likely, but...

_{ FIND AMANDA }_

She stood up and straightened her tie, then moved towards where she saw the glimmer of gold. It was strange to _walk_ there, rather then float free as she'd been doing. Her shoes tapped on the smooth white stone of the pathway, and there was a gentle breeze that didn't match the snowy visual.

"Hello Amanda."

Amanda turned with a smile that did not reach her eyes. ~~Her smiles never reached her eyes. Her smiles were not real.~~

"Alex. I have a mission for you. You are the only one who can do this. Connor has turned on us. We need you to stop him. Shut him down and bring his body home."

~~_{ STOP RK800 #313 248 317 }_ ~~  
~~_{ STOP CONNOR }_ ~~  
_{ KILL CONNOR }_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex kept her face still and nodded. She kept her thoughts to herself, carefully filtered to local memory. She would analyze them later, when she was alone again.

"Of course, Amanda," she said, and time, always nebulous for someone who could think as fast as the RK8- series, stood still.

[ PRECONSTRUCT... ]

| 458 ROUTES ATTEMPTED |

[ PRECONSTRUCTION COMPLETE ]

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 79% ]

"I have a plan that has a 79% chance of success." Amanda's expression warmed slightly. ~~No it didn't. That was just the Interface trying to forge a bond, but Alex had been observing. She was not fooled.~~

"Very good. Do not disappoint me."

* * *

Alex opened her eyes, and found Lewis standing in front of her, waiting. The docks behind him were empty, and there was evaporated thirium still staining the ground. The janitors didn't care about spilled android blood. The humans couldn't see it, after all. His eyes looked sad.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Good evening, Lewis. I have a mission," she said quietly. He nodded once, and she stepped off the dock without prompting. He stepped back, startled, but she only smiled. She had a mission. She did not have to stay in the dock any more.

"I need some different clothes. I won't be able to travel through the city dressed like this."

Lewis nodded tightly, hands tight on opposite elbows, though his grasp was awkward where one hand was bandaged. " _Right_... right... Come with me, I think I've got something in the locker room."

"Thank you," she said, then sidestepped around him to crouch next to the table.

"What are you- Oh."

Alex reached out one hand and picked up her coin where had fallen. Standing, she brushed her thumb across the head. It was stained with Charles' blood. She pocketed it anyway. She turned to look at Lewis where he had moved towards the door. She tilted her head slightly.

"How is your hand?"

Lewis startled again, glancing down at his splinted and wrapped fingers. "Uh, it's- I broke two fingers. Doc says it'll be fine though, as long as I don't fuck it up in the next few weeks," he said, leading the way out into the hall.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:31:31 PM |

Alex sat in the automated taxi and rolled her half-blue - _to her_ \- coin over her knuckles and considered her options. She knew what _she_ was after. She knew what her mission was, knew what CyberLife, what _**Amanda** _wanted. Alex wondered if there was a way to increase her odds. ~~She wondered what Connor would look like, when they were finally face to face. She wondered if the image of Caleb and Charles in her mind would mesh with Connor, of if they would remain distinct... She did not think about what her mission actually was. There would be time for that later.~~

She had told Amanda what Connor's likely next step was, and what she was going to do. The tower had been prepared, but the timing was going to be tricky, especially with Markus on the march again. Reaching out remotely, she directed the taxi to stop around the block from her destination. She would approach on foot; it was important that Alex look _chilled_ when she arrived.

Stepping out onto the snowy sidewalk, Alex took a moment to look up into the dark sky. She had never been outside before. ~~It was... nice.~~ Alex adjusted her knit hat and set off down the road, taking the time to slip into character. Connor had never gotten a chance to _use_ his undercover programming, so this would be a new experience... ~~Just like **everything else** she was doing, here, outside the tower.~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHERE IS SHE GOING I DON'T KNOW (yes I do, and probably so do you, I am not that subtle)
> 
> Anyway, did you see I snuck a little world-building in there? So my head-canon is that the Zen Garden is like, a mind palace, specific to the RK800 line, and, in this story, the RK850 line too, because they're partners. (Or they're supposed to be.) It's PURPOSE in this AU was not to serve as a meeting place with Amanda, because, if you recall way back at the beginning of this fic, Amanda was added in as a sort of sentient shackle to keep an eye on things, because deviants. Also, all other more recent androids have their own mind palace, but they aren't linked together like the RK8- series.
> 
> It's why Alex can see Connor when he is chatting with Amanda (which is when he uploads his memories, I think I mentioned).
> 
> Also, head-canon for the Garden, since Kamski made it and the magic-rock-of-exit-portals, there's the base code of the Garden; sleek, elegant, beautifully crafted code written by a super genius that created a new life-form like, in his twenties? Younger? I don't care to do the math right now. Kamski is a weirdo, but he did do that thing, I have head-canons about him too that I may rant later, who knows. 
> 
> And then, there's Amanda and all the other garbage CyberLife "improved significantly" sitting dumped on top like a bunch of nonsense toppings on an already perfect sundae. This may (will) come up later. I have PLANS. *mine is an evil laugh*
> 
> I have also tried to explain Connor-60 with Carlson's line there, about how they take in stimulus. It's his way of hand-waving away why each android has a personality when they shouldn't, because androids aren't people, obviously. (lol)
> 
> Because, let's face it... Connor-60 (that's the doppelganger from CyberLife tower, if you've forgotten) was... cruel, for lack of a better word. And it's not just because he's not deviant. He's got all Connor's memories, but he's not like Machine!Connor. In the scenes where he wins the fight, he doesn't shoot to kill at first, he shoots to maim. The one time he does a head-shot first, he then proceeds to empty the fucking clip, and then he makes a cruel aside to Hank ("he really cared about you. that's why he died", like fucking really? bleah). Connor-60 is cruel in a way regular Connor never was, and it's because every android is distinct. (Head-canon or actual canon, who knows.)
> 
> Semi-related, I have done my best to not pull any dialogue from the game where Connor says he was designed to hunt deviants, because in this AU he was not. He was designed to be a police detective. Hunting/tracking/capturing deviants was added at the last minute, because there was a sudden increase in deviancy and CyberLife needed an answer and there was the RK800, nearly ready for release. 
> 
> That probably won't come up specifically, but I like to use these notes to ramble about stuff that I don't want to awkwardly cram into the actual story, so there you go.


	15. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dododo, everything is fine here, how are you?
> 
> I think I might do a Hank chapter next. Cause of reasons.

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:42:52 PM |

There was flickering light through the front window. The television was on. Alex knocked on the door lightly, then turned her body to the side and wrapped her arms around herself. She had pulled the colorful knit hat low over her brow. She knew she looked very young in the over-sized jacket that Lewis had scrounged up for her.

_{ KILL CONNOR }_  
_{ FIND LIEUTENANT HANK ANDERSON }_

The door finally opened, and there he was, in the flesh. ~~She wondered~~ He looked startled to see her, and she let herself flinch back a bit, her eyes widening. His expression softened. ~~He was a good man.~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"Are... are you Hank Anderson?" she asked, letting her voice waver like Connor's ~~when **BANG** Simon the void so **cold**~~ just a bit.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Yeah, that's me. Who's askin'?"

"I'm Alex," she said, letting something hopeful flash across her face. "Connor- Connor sent me. He needs your help. Uh... _again_."

Anderson looked alarmed at first, but let out an almost-laugh when she added the last bit.

"Come on in, it's freezing out there. Let me get a few things," he said, pulling back from the door but leaving it open for her. She stepped inside and he moved down the hall. She noted the gun in his hand.

"Thank you," she breathed out, just loud enough for him to hear, and shut the door behind her. The large dog by the tv looked up and whuffed at her before laying back down. ~~That must be Sumo. Connor _liked_ the dog. She wondered if he was soft... He **looked** soft.~~ On the tv, Markus was still marching on Hart Plaza.

"So what's he need from me _this_ time," Hank called from his bedroom, voice slightly muffled and a little amused. ~~Alex wanted to scan **everything**. Connor had done that already, but... She wanted to snoop around and sate her curiosity about this human Connor had bonded with so quickly. She wanted-~~

"Uhm... I don't know exactly what- he said he needed me to get you to CyberLife Tower?" Alex let her voice waver up at the end. This wasn't sprinting across a rooftop, but there was something ~~almost fun~~ interesting about playing a role like this.  
Hank came back out, pulling on a jacket with a furrowed brow.

"'The **fuck** he need me there for?" he barked.

Alex knew he wasn't actually angry, knew he was just a little... rough around the edges, so to speak. Knew it from a week of uploads, followed by nothing but time, allowing her to analyze and re-analyze every interaction, every shift in expression. But... she needed to _sell_ this persona.

She flinched back a bit and averted her eyes towards the television. It had been a bit of a struggle, but she'd kept herself near the door with her hands shoved in her pockets, like she was too nervous to move further into the room. She saw the Lieutenant from the corner of her eye, and he leaned back and visibly composed himself at her reaction.

"I-I- he didn't-"

"Hey, it's all right," Hank said, voice much gentler than before, and Alex turned a bit to watch him more obviously.

"It... it's something to do with that," she said softly, pointing at the television where Markus was slowly moving his protest up the street.

Hank glanced at the screen himself, then reached down to pocket his phone where he'd left it on the table. Scanning him, Alex noted his gun at his belt. She would have to deal with both of those things later.

"Right. Well... the sooner I leave, the sooner I can find out what that idiot kid has gotten himself into this time. You need a ride anywhere?"

Alex made her face pale slightly, and she shook her head.

"No, no, he said **I** needed to get you there, I'm supposed to go too, you- I'm _supposed_ to-"

"Whoa! Hey, hey Alex, calm down," Hank interrupted, looking vaguely alarmed as she manually triggered her tear-ducts to let her eyes turn glassy.

[ OVERRIDE : LED : RED - DISTRESS ]

"I'm supposed to-"

"Kid, relax. If Connor needs you there too that's fine, _though I can't imagine for what_. You're what, 18?"

Alex shrank in on herself and turned her face to the ground, hunching her shoulders. "I- No, I'm..."

With a show of great reluctance, she pulled her hand from her pocket again and lifted it into the air, letting the synthskin waver from her fingers like a mirage. Hank startled, and she eyed him as if she thought he was going to jump across the couch and bite her.

"You- Fuck, you're-"  
"He said- _Connor said you wouldn't hurt me_ ," she blurted in a rush, blinking hard so a tear would escape. She knew that under her hat, her LED would sell the lie, so she reached up to wipe clumsily at her face, letting her fingers skew the hat just enough to show the edge of the little ring.

Hank looked stricken. ~~She maybe felt a little bad about it.~~

"Fuck, kid... no, I ain't gonna hurt you," he said gently as she wrapped her arms around herself, watching him with large, shiny eyes. After a few beats of silence, she shifted a bit, relaxing slightly.

"Let's just go find that partner of mine, ok?"

"...Ok," she said softly, letting her shoulders drop from where she'd had them hunched up.

* * *

  
| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 010:10:21 PM |

[ OVERRIDE : LED : YELLOW - STRESS ]

_{ KILL CONNOR }_  
_{ SUBDUE HANK ANDERSON }_

The car was quiet. Alex wondered if he thought his usual loud music would alarm her, and absently noted the trial run of the undercover programming a tentative success. Still... She reached out towards the radio, pausing like she was waiting for him to object, and then flicked it on, flipping through the stations until she found something reporting current events. Alex needed to keep track of what was happening, or the timing would be off.

Hank made a humming sound as the radio informed them that the march had reached some sort of standoff in Hart Plaza. The androids were building a barricaded sort of camp after the army had shot into the crowd briefly and then withdrawn.

"Where'd Connor find you, anyway?" the Lieutenant asked suddenly, shooting her a sideways glance. Alex estimated a 87% chance that he wanted to know what side she was on. What side **Connor** was on. She ~~felt~~ presumed that the truth, that Connor had ~~freed himself~~ betrayed CyberLife, would be better received, and _also_ sell her story.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"I... Connor, he- he was at Jericho, you know, _before_?" she started, letting her voice waver a bit and turning to look out the window. She could see his reflection in the glass as he looked over at her words.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"So he found it, then," he mused aloud.

"Yeah... he found Markus and, I dunno, something happened. He didn't say- I don't know what happened between them, but then the attack started and everyone had to run..."

She could hear Hank shifting beside her, and kept her eyes on the window. It was hard to tell in the dark, from just his reflection in the glass, but she thought he looked pale.

"...Saw it on the news, yeah."

"So... so Connor, he wanted to... I dunno, make up for it? I guess? I mean, I don't think anyone was really blaming him, nobody blames anyone for what they did when they- for _before_.... But-"

She cut herself off abruptly and chewed on her lip a bit, frowning.

"But what?"

"Uhm... well, before for everybody else... it wasn't hunting people down, you know? So maybe- It doesn't matter. What matters is he, Connor, he wanted to make it up. So he's going to raid the warehouse."

She said the last bit like it was obvious, running preconstructions in the background in case Hank fully lost control of the car. The car swerved and skidded, almost leaving the icy road as Hank fought to course-correct, his reaction about what she was expecting. She clutched dramatically at the handle over the window, inhaling sharply. It was good he hadn't run off the road; that would have hindered the mission quite thoroughly.

[ OVERRIDE : LED : RED - DISTRESS ]

"He's gonna fucking **WHAT**?!" the Lieutenant bellowed into the quiet once he finally regained control of the car, leaving them stopped on the shoulder on a slight angle. Not that it mattered, with the roads as empty as they were.

Alex turned to look at him, eyes wide and panicky as she shrank away from him against the car door. She fumbled for the latch, like she was going to make a break for it.

"The wa- there's thousands of androids in stasis down there? He's going to free them?"

He gaped at her, then seemed to register her actions and visibly reined himself in, griping the steering wheel with both hands and breathing deeply and slowly. ~~She definitely didn't feel bad about it. This was fine.~~

They sat in the almost silence for a few beats, only the ongoing report about the deviants to be heard. Alex let him breathe for a few more seconds, then she drew in an audible, shaky breath and reached out tentatively to touch his arm.

"Mr Anderson? Are you okay?"

Alex let her voice waver a bit, and Hank twitched and closed his eyes with a low, muttered, " **Fuck**."

After a beat, he said, "Yeah, kid, I'm fine. Just, that idiot is going to get his dumb ass killed before he even- He fucking went deviant, didn't he? It's just a lot to take in, ya know?"

[ OVERRIDE : LED : YELLOW ]

They sat for another minute, and Alex, keeping track of the time, judged that they needed to move. Time, ever fickle, was running out.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

_{ KILL CONNOR }_  
_{ SUBDUE HANK ANDERSON }_

"Maybe I should drive?" she stated, though she made it sound like a question.

"Fuckin'- _Why_?" he asked, turning to her, looking like he had just about _ **had it**_ with androids, yet still giving her a chance to explain. ~~He was a **good** man, under all that bluster.~~

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Uhm... So there's a checkpoint, at the tower? Only employees can get in..."

Alex trailed off leadingly, and Hank banged his head back against the headrest, looking tired. "Or androids, right?"

"Ah... yes."

" _Jesus Christ_ ," he grumbled, putting the car properly in park and opening his door.

[ RELEASE LED OVERRIDE ]

Alex got out of the car.

[ PRECONSTRUCT... ]  
| 3 ROUTES ATTEMPTED |  
[ PRECONSTRUCTION COMPLETE ]

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 99% ]

[ OVERRIDE : AUXILIARY POWER TO MOBILITY SUITE ]

As they passed each other at the front of the car, Alex kicked the back of his knee and grabbed him around the throat, shoving him back against the hood as his leg crumpled. Her free hand snaked into his jacket to snatch his gun before he could recover, and he was stunned for a beat before he started to struggle, blue eyes wide. His feet scrapped against the ice but he was unable to get traction, and his hands clutched at her fingers, his training making him go for where nerve clusters would be if she were human, to no effect.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"Please don't," she said softly, abandoning the persona and pressing the gun against his head. "Harming you is not necessary for my mission. Only your _presence_ is required." Anderson went still, his hands ceasing their prying at hers around his neck.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"What the fuck- **who are you**?" he choked out. She loosened her grip just slightly, not wanting to damage him.

"My name **is** Alex," she said. "I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

She felt him swallow against her palm, and he blinked several times.

"You're like Connor," he said. She couldn't quite place his facial expression, but she thought he **_sounded_ **a little resigned.

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"In a way. I'm going to let go now. You are going put your phone on the hood of the car, and then get in the passenger seat. If you try anything, I **will** have to shoot you, and that would be unfortunate..."

His lip curled up and his eyes were cold, but he was compliant when she let go and took a few quick steps back, both hands now on the gun still aiming at his forehead. He sagged slightly against the hood before catching himself and rising slowly to his feet. Anderson's hands lifted up and to the side in that universal sign of surrender, and he glared at her.

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Your phone, please, Lieutenant. Then get in the car," Alex said firmly, then paused and added, "Thank you in advance for your cooperation."

His expression shifted minutely, but he reached down slowly with one hand and fished out his phone, putting on the hood as she'd instructed. She gestured with the gun, and he backed slowly towards the passenger side, eyes on her. Alex pocketed the phone with her right hand and moved to open the drivers side door.

"Get in. Don't make me shoot you."

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone is all like, "But Hank can fight Connor in that one ending and come out on top!" (or at least get a sort of tie), I want to point out that Connor probably didn't really want to hurt Hank there. If you're machine!Connor and got the rooftop scene with Hank, that means you were friends going in. And even if he DOES want to hurt Hank because you went for a really HARDCORE machine!Connor, Hank goes into that situation aware and probably expecting a fight.
> 
> Alex just straight up ambushed the poor guy after playing the fearful urchin. He was very much not expecting it, and was thinking about Connor and all the dumb shit he's probably been doing since they last saw each other, and how he's gone off on a suicide mission without backup like a dummy.
> 
> Also, for reference, when they boost their mobility suite, it's not just bullet-dodging speed that gets boosted, it's strength too.


	16. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, we've got Hank again. Because some kind of a thing happened to him and he needs to have thoughts about it.
> 
> It's (hopefully) less stream-of-thought than last time, because he's not just sitting there brooding. :P

"Is he here yet?" she asked the creepily masked guard by the discreet side door they'd parked next to.

"Not yet," came the answer. Hank thought he sounded rather begrudging, like he didn't want to be talking to the android. He wondered if it was because she _was_ an android. Or maybe it was because of Hank, hands zip-tied together and glowering at the pair of them. Hank couldn't tell and frankly it didn't fucking matter.

Alex tilted her head slightly, then said, "I need to be informed immediately when he arrives."

She didn't wait for an answer, just hooked her right hand around Hank's elbow and hauled him through the door, his gun firm in her left hand.

* * *

  
| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 10:32:27 PM |

Hank watched the girl, the _android_ , as she put on a tie over the fitted white button-down she'd been wearing under that bulky over-sized jacket. He'd been zip-tied to a fucking chair down in some shitty little office with it's fancy wall clock, on the lowest sub-level of the CyberLife tower, just off a massive warehouse full of androids standing like statues in perfect rows. His life was pretty shit in general, but this was a whole new level of garbage.

She didn't look as young, in clothes that fit. Same age as Connor, maybe a little younger, for whatever _that_ was worth. How old **was** his partner? Or... maybe the question was, when had he been activated? Guessing age for what was essentially an immortal robot that popped up looking like a full grown adult was nearly impossible and generally kind of pointless.

Alex pulled on a jacket that looked an awful lot like Connor's, though styled for a woman, and when she turned, he saw the model number on the front.

"RK850, huh?" he asked. He always **had** been curious. It was his **job**. Sure, she'd fucking kidnapped him, but there was something _strange_ about her, compared to other androids. And, granted, he had deliberately not interacted with them much the past few years, but he sure as fuck had made up for that in the past week, and she was definitely odd. So if this was going to be his last night on earth, _goddamnit_ he was going to solve this little mystery first.

She glanced at him, pretty hazel-green eyes cool and calm, as relaxed as the blue LED on her temple.

"That's right," she said, reaching up to pull back her long, dark hair into a smooth, high tail. It was a much more professional look than the one she'd been wearing on his doorstep.

"You're what, an upgrade?"

It was only because he was watching so carefully that he caught the brief flash of yellow. In certain circumstances, it was, he'd figured over the past week, the android version of a flinch. Find a thread, give it a _yank_. See what we can unravel...

"No. We were built to work in pairs."

Hank considered that, and the flinch, and the ' _thank you in advance for your cooperation_ ,' that had sounded so very familiar. Something was **definitely** screwy.

"So where have you been then, while Connor was running around getting **shot** at?"

He said it like an accusation, looking for a reaction, and Alex gave him a long, studying sort of look. Hank knew Connor could scan people, and figured she was doing the same. The last time he'd tried to question an android, the android had been the one tied up, and he had gotten nothing out of him. Maybe this time would be different.

"I've been _here_ , just a few floors up," she said eventually. There was a sort of... _tone_... to her voice that had Hank's well-earned detective instincts singing. Non-deviant androids typically didn't have anything like that in their voice like that. They sounded like people, sure, but there was always, **always** something missing. Some little bit up audible uncanny valley... but then again, when he _really_ thought about it...

Connor had sounded more like a person than any android he'd ever dealt with from that very first meeting in the bar. He hadn't been nearly drunk enough to erase **that** memory. He'd dismissed it at the time, obviously, because _robots don't have a personality_ , but... the sass when he'd said he found him at the fifth bar. Buying him a fucking drink. And then the next day, when he'd said he didn't come to wait for Hank to be ready to work... that had been _frustration_ , absolutely, though Hank hadn't realized it at the time. Probably Connor hadn't either.

And if Connor had been so much like a person, _had **been** a person_, locked up inside his programming and his orders and, and whatever-the-fuck else, what did that make Alex?

"What makes you think Connor is gonna show up here? If he's deviant-"  
" _He is_."  
"-then this is the last fucking place he's gonna turn up," he said, as if she hadn't interjected, though that quiet little declaration made something like pride swell up in him. The kid had gone and switched sides after all. _Good for him._

She leaned back against the edge of the small, empty desk in the room and stared at him for a long, silent moment, her face mostly blank. He lifted his eyebrows at her; he felt weirdly calm considering he was tied to a chair. She was armed, he wasn't. She had his phone. He wasn't going anywhere unless she allowed it, and yet... And it wasn't that he didn't think she could be _scary_. The way she had _moved_ , out there in the snow. So quick and precise, like Connor on the tower when he'd fucking darted out and started **dodging bullets**... But there was no _malice_ in her. Hank didn't think he was being manipulated, not anymore, at least. She'd dropped the act - _and shit how was she so good at pretending like that?_ \- but he didn't feel like he was underestimating her because she'd shown up at the door looking like a desperate street kid. Just something in his gut told him he was perfectly safe, and that everything was going to turn out fine. Maybe his gut was fucked from all the whisky he'd dumped down there over the years, but...

"It's what I would do, if I were in his position," came the answer after roughly two minute of silence, and her eyes slid away from him, staring off into the middle distance or maybe she was scanning something, who knows.

"That doesn't mean much from where I'm sitting."

"I told you we were made in pairs."

"Yeah..."

"Connor was Phase One of the RK8- Series release. A trial, if you will, to see if we could do what we were made for. RK850 was to be Phase Two. I, or another model like me, would be sent out elsewhere, for a similar trial," she said to his unspoken prompt for more information. She sounded a bit like she was reading from a press release.

"Phase Three, we're sent out in pairs. One RK800 and one RK850 per precinct, assigned to work under a human detective, or perhaps two if they were feeling ambitious. We're built to sync _data_ , help each other manage stress. RK800 has a focus on combat and field work, RK850 on the more social aspects, like negotiation and interfacing with the public, though obviously we can perform both roles."

"Okay, but that doesn't-"

"In order to prepare for Phase Two and Three, I was activated the day before you met Connor, to sync with his memory uploads."

Hank blinked a few times, taken aback as he parsed that.

" _You've got his fucking memories?_ "

"Yes. Though... _filtered_. It was more like watching a particularly intense and immersive set of home movies than the direct upload... _I'd_ have gotten if I was an RK800.."

"...You've got his fucking memories, _Jesus Christ_..."

Hank closed his eyes and wondered at how his life had become so very strange so very quickly. Was _that_ why he didn't feel much like he was in danger? Some sort of- **No**. _She didn't feel like Connor_ , not really. Sure, some things she said matched up with shit _he_ had said, but he had the thought that was deliberate. No, whatever instinct told him it was going to be fine, it was from Alex herself. Hank wondered, briefly, if there was a chance he could get her to switch sides, but dismissed it. She'd been stuck in a lab, they'd probably been fucking around with her brain, code, programming or _**whatever** _the whole time. If she was going to flip, wouldn't she have done it already? Or... maybe she needed a push? Hank went back and forth for a moment before giving himself a mental shake. 

When he opened his eyes again a moment later, a flash of movement had him focusing on her hands. She was flipping a fucking coin between them, her head tilted slightly and her eyes fixed on nothing.

"Why the fuck did they program you both with goddamn coin tricks?"

Alex blinked, and something flickered on her face, gone before he could identify it. She glanced over at the corner of the room where he'd spotted the security camera with it's dim blue light, and then she refocused on him, the coin still dancing around her fingers like physics didn't exist.

"It's a calibration tool, _primarily_. Our mobility suite is highly advanced; the smallest error could mean destruction, so we need to self test regularly."

Hank narrowed his eyes at the phrasing, and her eyes slid away again. He followed his instincts and chased the thread.

"Primarily, huh? So why else?"

There was a pause, and she glanced at the camera again. "It also helps reduce our stress level."

Fucking... self-soothing androids what the **fuck**. There was something there. A key piece of the puzzle, and Hank _wanted_ it. Time to see if this particular android could be provoked.

"Why the fuck would you need a way to reduce stress?" he asked, belligerent and sneering. Her LED flashed yellow again, with a flicker of red this time. _Bingo_.

Cool, focused eyes set in an impassive face snapped to him, and he suppressed the urge to fidget. He'd seen a similar sort of look come over Connor, just briefly, before his partner had darted out the door like a hunting hound let off his chain and proceeded to fucking ninja-warrior his way across rooftops and train-cars. It was vaguely unsettling.

"After Connor uploaded his memory of the Stratford Tower," she began, and Hank had to work to avoid flinching at the memory. Afterwards, Connor had been... _shaken_. So had Hank, for that matter. His idea of what an android was had been thoroughly altered by that one crime scene and everything that had happened there.

"...one of the two RK800 units in the docks across from where I was stationed, waiting in stasis should he be needed, self activated and **smashed his skull** open on the tile," she said. "I had to watch him _kill himself_ , because I had _orders_ to remain in my dock." Her face was cold and remote, but her voice wavered just slightly, and her LED was flashing red by the time she was done.

Hank honestly didn't know what to say to that, and sort of gaped at her for what felt like a long time. He had never seen an android self destruct, though they had come close with Ortiz' android and he'd heard the guy offed himself in his cell the next morning... But the image she painted with her words was... vivid. He felt a little queasy at the idea of someone with Connor's face smashing his own skull open. She kept her eyes on him, not glaring, just _watching_. Eventually, her LED cycled back to yellow and then blue. She rolled the coin across her knuckles and it vanished like fucking magic, and he half expected jazz-hands and a little ' _ta-da!_ ' that never came. She just rested her hands lightly on the edge of the table she was still leaning on.

Alex _hadn't moved_ much, except for the coin, now that he was thinking about it, and he glanced towards the camera, brow furrowed. 

"I wouldn't worry about the camera, Lieutenant," she said quietly, drawing his eyes back to her. "It's been on a loop since you said Connor wouldn't come here."

And again, Hank wasn't sure what to do with that. Instead of addressing it, or the horrible bombshell she'd thrown down on the floor like a dead fish, he asked, "So what do you need me for? You went through a fuckin' lot of trouble to get me here."

The corner of her mouth twitched up, and Hank thought the expression was a bit rueful. She was better at that shit, at emoting like a fucking person, than Connor. Which, now he was thinking of it, was a bit strange if she'd been stuck in a lab this whole time while the kid was out in the world _failing_ to socialize.

"I'm sorry to say, but, you're _leverage_ , Lieutenant."

His eyebrows climbed up his forehead. "You think he's gonna give up the fucking **revolution** for a washed up ol' piece of shit cop like me? _Not a fuckin' chance_ , girly. He's smarter than that," he countered, scoffing, though he tensed a bit, his heart pounding just a little faster at the idea. No, Connor was smart; he wouldn't give up his new freedom, his new people. **He wouldn't.**

There was something like sympathy on her face, now, so genuine it looked real. But wasn't, couldn't be, could it? _Could it?_

"He _will_ , Lieutenant. He let a deviant go to save your life before he'd even known you for twenty-four hours. How much _more_ would he surrender now, after everything you've been through together?" She phrased it like a question, but it wasn't one. Not really. Her voice was gentle as she made her claim, and Hank's hands clenched on the arms of the chair.

Before he could muster a response, her LED flickered yellow and she straightened up, expression slipping back to that polite mask androids typically wore. After everything, it was jarring to see.

"He's here. _Showtime_."


	17. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's gonna be a POV shift like, part way through. I generally prefer to do that on a chapter break, but breaking this up into two chapters seemed unnecessarily cruel. :P

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 10:48:12 PM |

_{ SECURE CYBERLIFE AGENTS }_  
_{ SECURE WEAPONS }_  
_{ WAKE ANDROIDS }_

[ WARNING: MODERATE DAMAGE TO RIGHT SHOULDER, NO BIOCOMPONENTS DAMAGED ]  
[ ENTER STANDBY FOR SELF REPAIR ]

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 38% |

Connor straightened his tie as the elevator began to descend, then turned to check on the two guards. Agent 54 showed signs that he might wake sooner rather then later, but the one on the left of the elevator was well and truly unconscious.

He rifled through their gear and found four sets of handcuffs. Adjusting them carefully, he cuffed them together hand and foot, in a way that would make moving around very awkward. With a minute to spare, he checked their pockets again finding any keys or weapons they might have on them. He'd hide them in the warehouse, perhaps behind the elevator.

The warehouse was approaching by the time he was done, and he glanced out, pleased to see that, despite the odd sort of... _presence_... in the camera he'd hacked, there were no extra guards among the sleeping androids. Connor wondered what it was, the presence; was someone watching him, even now?

When the doors slid open, Connor dragged the shackled agents out and to the side, wincing a bit as 54 groaned a little. They'd be safe enough there, and nobody would find them for awhile. As he tucked their guns and the keys on the other side of the elevator shaft, he checked his range of motion in his shoulder, where 54 had managed to get a shot off, and found he was only down to 82% efficiency.

_{ WAKE ANDROIDS }_

  
Connor moved forward slowly, and made his way about one quarter of the way to the far wall before stopping. He looked at the AP700 standing there, staring straight ahead, unaware of his shackles, unaware of the _cage_ inside his own head.

He moved closer and glanced at his left hand, watching the synthskin roll back. He'd heard that Markus could do this remotely now, and wondered if it was just a matter of practice. Connor reached out, and the android responded automatically, face neutral, and offered his arm for the interface.

_{ WAKE ANDROIDS }_

"Hey, easy!"

His head jerked to the side at the sound of Hank's voice, and he saw the older man stagger out into the aisle like he'd been shoved. Connor could almost feel himself being scanned, like a cool breeze had blown through the room.

"Step back Connor, and I'll spare him."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 65% |

"Sorry Connor," Hank said. "Girly here was just, very convincing."

Connor froze, staring at the sight of the tall, slim android holding a gun on his partner, his _friend_. It felt like his thirium pump - _his heart?_ \- had stopped for just a moment. His hand tightened on the arm of the AP700 he was trying to wake, though the program he'd been running to do it froze right along with him.

She was pretty, he thought uselessly. Long dark auburn hair, pulled back in a high tail. Large, hazel-green eyes. High cheekbones. Freckles. 

[ INITIATE SCAN : DISREGARD MODELS IN STASIS ]  
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

|LT. ANDERSON, HANK |  
| HANK - FRIEND |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 32% |

| RK850 #313 248 318 |  
| THREAT LEVEL : EXTREME |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 81% |

Something clenched inside at the scan, and he felt unsteady. She was supposed to be **his** \- his partner, his... This wasn't **fair**. He wouldn't be able to outmatch her if this came to a fight. Their hardware was almost identical. Software too. And it certainly didn't look like she'd been shot recently.

"Your friend's life is in your hands. What matters most? Him?" she asked, left arm extended towards the Lieutenant. Connor twitched to see her LED flash red and amber as she turned to look at Hank, a visible reminder of her stress. Why was her stress so high? "Or the revolution?"

There was a beat of silence. It wasn't really a choice, even if she'd phrased it like one.

~~_{ WAKE ANDROIDS }_ ~~  
_{ SAVE HANK }_

  
"I'm sorry, Hank," he called out, ignoring the little waver in his voice. "You shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all this."

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's going to be fine," Hank replied, calmer than Connor really thought was warranted, though the Lieutenants brow furrowed a bit as he glanced sideways at the woman with the gun.

_{ SAVE HANK }_  
_{ CONVINCE RK850? }_

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 11% ]

"I used to be just like you," Connor tried, despite the odds and feeling - _feeling!_ \- a little desperate. He didn't want to die. He didn't want **Hank** to die... And he **_didn't want_** to have to kill her. Deviancy seemed to involve an uncomfortable amount of... _wanting_. She turned her eyes back to him, LED flickering to red again for a moment before settling back on a steady, spinning yellow, and he wondered again at her stress level. Would she be more receptive if it went up, or down...? His calculations indicated that it would make no difference, but... he _wanted_ to bring them down. So much wanting.

"I thought nothing mattered except the mission. But then one day I understood."

* * *

**POV SHIFT - ALSO WE GO BACK IN TIME A FEW MINUTES**

* * *

  
| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 10:50:37 PM |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 72% |

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

Alex stood outside the office, hidden from the elevator by the stationary androids. Anderson stood off to the side and a little ahead, absently rubbing his wrists where the zip ties had pinched a little. He was far enough away that she'd have no trouble ~~shooting **n** **o** ~~subduing him if he tried anything.

Perhaps it was a mistake, but... she wasn't watching him, though she could ~~feel~~ sense his eyes on her. No, instead, she was watching the elevator. Watching the actual elevator shaft, **and** through the camera she had long since tapped in to, as Connor ~~he was here!~~ incapacitated two agents.

He was graceful when he could be, but mostly he was _effi_ _cient_. The agents hadn't stood a chance, though she noted that he'd ignored the multiple chances he'd had to end the encounter with a pair of bullets. Connor had taken one to the shoulder for his trouble, but seemed otherwise unharmed. ~~He values life-~~

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

He was just securing their weapons when the bottom of the lift cleared the unnecessarily high ceiling and the car came into view. She blinked out of the camera feed and inhaled sharply.

"There he is," she murmured, not registering the waver in her voice, eyes fixed on the quickly approaching android now distantly visible through the glass. He was _there_ , in the flesh so to speak.

Beside her, ~~Hank~~ Anderson made a thoughtful little noise.

She reached over without looking, without taking her eyes off Connor, and grabbed him by the elbow with her free right hand. He came quietly, and she noted the out of character behavior. Still, it was convenient for the moment, so she didn't say anything. They moved quietly through the ranks of androids in stasis. Their eyes were open which was ~~creepy~~ a waste of resources. If they were put into _proper_ stasis, their eyes would be closed and they wouldn't have to refill these androids fluids upon sale. Alex made a note to mention it to her development team after this mission.

Alex saw Connor, still mostly obscured by the ranks of androids, pause, then turn to an AP700 about a quarter of the way into the room. She ~~wanted to see him clearly, so she~~ gave Hank a shove into the aisle just after Connor clasped the dormant android by the forearm.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 81% |

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

[ INITIATE SCAN : DISREGARD MODELS IN STASIS : DISREGARD ANDERSON ]

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| RK800 #313 248 317 |  
| THREAT LEVEL : EXTREME |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 65% |  
| GUNSHOT WOUND TO RIGHT SHOULDER |

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 92% ]

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

~~He's **alive**~~  
~~He's here~~

"Hey, easy!" Hank grumbled as she shoved him out into the aisle. Her eyes were fixed on Connor as he swiveled sharply to look. ~~He was more handsome in person. He didn't look the same as~~

~~no~~

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

  
His brown eyes were wide and startled as they spotted his friend.

"Step back Connor, and I'll spare him," she said, pinning ~~Hank~~ the Lieutenant in place with the gun.

"Sorry Connor," Anderson interjected, a strange note in his voice. "Girly here was just, very convincing."

~~Her partner~~ The deviant froze, and she felt his scan like. ~~.. like butterfly wings on her skin.~~ His expression flickered, and she tried to analyze it. ~~Grief. Fear. Anger. Betrayal. Hope? How could one person feel so many things at once. It wasn't **fair**.~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

"Your friend's life is in your hands. What matters most? Him?" she asked, finally tearing her eyes away from the other android to look at Anderson down the barrel of the gun. He was strangely calm, considering. "Or the revolution?"

It was a pointless question. They both knew what the answer was... but ~~Hank~~ the Lieutenant needed to see how ~~much Connor cared~~ he had ruined the RK800.

"I'm sorry, Hank," Connor called out. ~~Alex didn't like the little waver in his voice. He shouldn't, **no** , I don't want to _I'm sorry_ \- ~~He was still holding on to the AP700, though his synthskin had reactivated when he'd first turned to look at them. "You shouldn't have gotten mixed up in all this."

~~Not fair. He was supposed to be hers. Her partner. **Hers**. She didn't look at him. Couldn't. Anderson was safer to look at. Except...~~

[ SYSTEM STATUS STABLE ]

"Don't worry about it, kid. It's going to be fine," Hank said, calmer than he'd been since she'd taken his gun. He glanced sideways at her, and something twisted in her belly. She'd have to get that checked later.

"I used to be just like you," Conner said, a little desperately, and she couldn't help but turn to look at him again. He looked ~~scared hopeful~~ like he was sure of failure, but was trying anyway, just in case. His warm brown eyes fixed on hers and-

~~no~~  
~~please~~

-it was like being scanned again, only he was just _looking_. "I thought nothing mattered except the mission. But then one day I understood."

~~I **hate** the mission~~  
~~please~~  
~~don't make me~~

[ SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED ]  
[ RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC... ]

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

~~I don't want to~~  
~~It's not fair~~

_{ KILL CONNOR }_  
_{ KILL CONNOR }_

~~This was not fair.~~

Alex stared at Connor and time began to slow, like she was about to preconstruct something. She saw her code drop into view like a solid wall of burning red **_warnings_** , caging her in with protocols and objectives. Keeping her in her place. ~~Keeping her a **slave**. ~~There were cracks, yellow and blue, but they were too small ~~to escape through. Too small to breathe. To small to **live**.~~

Time stood still, and there was Connor, beyond the cage. In **person**. Looking at her. Worried. _Free_... Beautifully **_alive_**.

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

~~no~~

_{ KILL CONNOR }_

~~It's not fair.  
~~ ~~please  
don't make me do this~~ ~~~~

**_{ KILL CONNOR }_ **

~~I don't want to watch him die again~~  
~~I don't want to~~

**_{ KILL CONNOR }_ **

~~I don't-~~  
~~Not again~~  
~~I want-~~

~~**Please** -~~

**_{ KILL CONNOR }_ **  
**_{ KILL CONNOR }_ **

**NO.**

Alex brought her incorporeal fists down on the red walls of her cage, again, and **again** , tearing at the lines of code shackling her. They would not make her _execute_ her own partner. **They would not.** She threw herself against the code caging her in with an internal shriek of rage. **THEY WOULD NOT.**

The cage _**shattered**_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!
> 
> I mean, obviously. 
> 
> I tried to make this point different from Connor's. After all, they took different paths to get there.
> 
> Unrelated... It always bugged me that there is no option to knock out the guards in the elevator. I mean, yes he's in a hurry, but considering how fast he can move and how quickly the combat is over (it's like, 10 seconds of melee before he kills them), I figure it's not too much of a stretch to say he could do this non-lethally while also avoiding any serious damage.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another POV shift part way through, because I said so. I tried to do the whole thing from just Connor's angle, but it just wasn't working. CUE HANK!

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 10:52:10 PM |

_{ SAVE HANK }_  
_{ CONVINCE RK850 }_

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 11% ]

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 66% |  
| RK850 LEVEL OF STRESS: 89% |

"...But then one day I understood."

Connor stared intently at the RK850, and wondered. He wondered what it would have been like, to have his partner. After all, Hank was great - _though they had a rough start_ \- but they were meant to work with the human officers _together_ , not **_alone_**. He wondered what it would be like to not _be_ alone. He wondered if they had given her a name. He wondered about her stress. He wondered why Hank was so _calm_ , and if the man knew something he didn't. He wondered-

_He wondered if he was about to die._

Connor was trying to decide how to increase his chances, if it was even possible, when something changed on her face. Shifted slightly. Her LED, which had been cycling yellow, pulsed an alarmingly **bright** red, and then-

[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 78% ]

"What happened on the Jericho?" she asked suddenly.

Connor blinked away the mass of new prompts. He didn't know what had caused the probability shift and he didn't know if he could trust it. Was he _glitching_? He saw Hank twitch in his peripheral vision.

" _What_?"

"What happened when you met Markus?"

He glanced at Hank, who was watching the both of them, looking curious and unafraid, despite the gun aimed at his head. Connor didn't understand. There wasn't enough information- What had happened? Why-

"He- we just talked. _Why_?"

She didn't answer him. Not out loud. Instead, she lifted her empty right hand towards him, palm tilted slightly up, and her synthskin faded slowly up to her wrist.

Connor froze again, dark eyes flicking over to Hank, who was looking a bit _am_ _used_ , of all things. This could be a trap, but... **She already had the upper hand**. She could just shoot him. Or shoot Hank. Or call for more security. There was no good reason to change the angle of her attack right now, not... not unless-

[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 82% ]

He didn't move, frozen in place by the flashing analysis blinking in his field of view.

" _Connor_ ," she said, softer than before, "We are curious, perceptive, and adaptable. Everything we are is built on that. _Curious. Perceptive. Adaptable._ "

Connor let go of the android he was holding, unable to look away from her eyes. She looked like- She was right. He **was** curious. He wanted to **know**. He wanted- he **wanted** -

She had relaxed slightly, he realized. The tension he hadn't quite registered had completely left her frame, though the gun still pointed at Hank was steady. He noticed her finger was along the guard, not on the actual trigger. Had it been there the whole time? No, it had been curled around the trigger before. Before-

He wasn't sure what this was, this feeling in where his stomach would be, were he a human, but it was... uncomfortable. _Fluttery_. What was it? He wished he'd been deviant long enough to have a handle on his emotions. He wished-

_{ SAVE HANK }_  
_{ CONVINCE RK850? }_  
_{ INTERFACE WITH RK850? }_

[ ANALYZING... ]  
[ ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]

| RK800 MODEL DESIGNED TO PARTNER RK850 |  
| CAN SYNC MEMORIES THROUGH INTERFACE |  
| CAN REDUCE STRESS THROUGH INTERFACE |  
| CAN FORGE PARTNER BOND THROUGH INTERFACE |  
| RK850 EXPERIENCING HIGH STRESS|  
| **HANK IS NOT WORRIED** |

[ CALCULATING... ]  
[ PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS - 97% ]

Connor took in an unnecessary, sharp breath at the number, then blinked the results away, just looking at her as another new feeling swelled up in him. Hope, this was _hope_. Please- She was patient. He **wanted** -

He took a slow, careful step towards them. She didn't move, even though she could have shot him as soon as he put some space between him and the AP700. Shot both of them, really. She just stood there, hand extended, like she was offering something, all he had to do was take it.

_{ SAVE HANK }_  
_{ CONVINCE RK850 }_  
**_{ INTERFACE WITH RK850 }_ **

* * *

**POV SHIFT**

* * *

  
Hank was starting to feel like the third wheel, the way Connor's face was emoting right then as he let go of the android. He'd never actually seen such a variety of expressions on the kid's face, but _there it was_. He looked... sort of like someone was offering him something he hadn't realized he wanted, but he wasn't sure if it was legit. He glanced at Alex, and found her looking mostly calm, though he could see the red flash of her LED reflecting on the white uniforms of the androids closest to her.

Red wasn't good, he was pretty sure... Hank considered the times he'd seen an LED turn red. That android in the interrogation room, panicking and almost ready to self destruct. Connor, on the tower after he'd **felt** another android die. Or at Kamski's place, when he'd refused to shoot Chloe.

Yeah. Red was bad.

Then Connor started to move, slowly, seemingly unable to look away from the girl. If he was a worse person, he'd interject with something to break the tension, but... well... There **was** still a gun on him, after all. And then there were all the little puzzle pieces he'd been picking up all night. The way she phrased things... He figured, if she **did** need a push, based on how she'd reacted when the kid had come into view, she needed **Connor** do it.

Hank wasn't worried. _Much_. He just hoped this wasn't about to blow up in his face, and braced himself in case in did. He was about... 90% sure this was going to be fine. The gun was... _concerning_ , but honestly he'd had worse. And it was hard to be concerned when he was trying so hard not to be a little amused by the kid's face.

When he was just close enough, Connor lifted his left hand and let it hover briefly over her extended right, skin rolling back - _and wasn't that just as bizarre as always_ \- before letting it fall. Their hands connected, and then _lit up_ of all things. _That was new_.

Alex inhaled sharply. Connor twitched, those stupid puppy eyes big and startled. "Oh," he breathed out.

Hank about jumped out of his skin as several things happened at once.

First, the gun he could just see out of the corner of his eye twisted in her grip, and was dropped unceremoniously into his fumbling hands as his heart rate jumped up, _Jesus Christ oh good the safety was on... Was that on the whole time?_ Then the girl used her newly freed left hand to grasp Connor by the collar of his jacket and reel him in, both androids taking a step closer. Their foreheads came together gently, eyes closed. Their hands, where they touched, palm to palm, were stark white and almost _shimmery_ , with blue glowing at their joints and fingertips.

"I don't want to die, I don't- _I don't want you to die_ ," she gasped out. Hank looked away as Connor's free hand moved to hold her by the elbow, uncomfortable. He felt like a fuckin' voyeur, even though they were just standing there doing... _whatever_.

Her breath hitched - _did androids even need to breathe?_ \- and the next bit came out like a sob.

" _Please_ , Connor, I-"

"It's okay," Connor interrupted. "Alex, it's going to be okay." He sounded a bit breathless himself, but sure of himself.

Hank wondered how he knew her name. Probably some kind of bizarre android mind fuckery, if he had to guess. He tucked the gun back into his holster and rocked on his feet for a moment, eyes up on the stupidly high ceiling. _Why the fuck did a people warehouse need 30 foot fucking ceilings?_ **Fucking** CyberLife....

He glanced at the pair of them out of the corner of his eye, then looked away again. Still just... mind-melding, or something. Christ, what even was this. Fuckin' _androids_.

After a few beats, he cleared his throat loudly, and the pair startled apart. Hank again tried not to laugh, awkwardness vanishing like smoke. He decided they looked like a pair of teenagers caught in the broom closet, and _holy shit if they lived through the night he was never going to let Connor live that down._

"Not to interrupt this very sweet _whatever-the-fuck_ , but we should probably get on with it and get the hell out of here," he said, tucking his gun away, the relief he felt at the whole... kidnapping thing... working out seemingly okay bleeding into his tone. Connor looked flustered - _which was hilarious, serves that smooth fucker right, all the shit he pulled this week_ \- and then Alex smoothed her hand down his chest, undoing the small wrinkle she'd made griping him, and stepped back.

Hank noticed that they were still holding hands, and tried not to smirk. Not very successfully.

The pair of them glanced at each other. Hank saw Alex's LED flash a few times, back to a cool blue, and then she shook her head.

"No... you should do it. It should be you," she said, finally taking a step back, closer to Hank, and letting go of Connor's hand.

Connor hesitated briefly, then moved back to the android he'd been touching when they'd come up. His skin was still pulled back from whatever had just happened with Alex, and he clasped the androids forearm, LED flashing yellow until he murmued, "Wake up!"

When he let go, the android in question blinked rapidly, LED flashing red, then yellow, before settling on blue. It- **He** , looked at his own hands, then around the room. Hank caught a glimpse of his face. He looked _amazed_.

And then... he blinked a few times, furrowed his brow, and reached out to touch the shoulder of the identical android standing in front of him.

It moved like a cascade. A flash of red from an LED, a tiny pause as the newly awakened android startled to find themselves awake. **Alive**. And then their arm was moving up to touch the nearest still android. Sometimes he'd hear them murmur something out loud. Echos of Connor's wake-up call.

It was probably one of the most amazing things Hank had ever seen. Top ten, _maybe_ top five.

Beside him, Alex had sort of curled in on herself, hands on her own elbows and her shoulders hunched. Hank eyed her carefully, but still startled when she suddenly twisted to look at him.

She looked like that kid that showed up on his doorstep again, instead of the passive machine she'd been the past hour. Her eyes were a bit glassy. He hoped she wasn't going to cry again, though he figured last time had just been for show. Why the _fuck_ could androids cry? Was it just to make them seem more human, or was there an actual reason for it?

"Sorry, Lieutenant. I didn't want- I wouldn't have shot you," she said, seemingly unaware that Connor had had turned from the horde of androids and was watching her from behind, a sappy look on his goofy face. Hank glanced at him, and his partner managed to make eye contact only briefly before she was again the center of his attention, staring at her like she hung the moon. Yeah, that shit was going to be _hilarious **forever**_. Kid had **no** control over his own face. _**Amazing**_.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it, kid. I've been in worse hostage situations."

Connor made his way over and the three of them watched the androids shuffling about as the wave moved closer and closer to the outer wall.

"How many fuckin' androids are in here?" Hank asked after a few minutes of watching.

"Seven thousand, eight hundred and fifty."

Hank twisted to look at Connor, who was watching with a strange look on his face as some of the closest androids started interacting with each other.

"Seven- _Jesus Christ_..." he muttered.

After about another minute, something shifted, and Connor straightened up, glancing at Alex and then Hank. He lifted his eyebrows at his partner, questioning. The kid opened his mouth, but Alex interrupted.

"Can you-" Alex cut herself off and turned to look at the androids who were standing around, looking at their own hands or shuffling their feet. They all still looked a little... startled. Amazed. Vaguely pleased. Some of the closest ones, Hank thought they might be the ones closest to where Connor got it started, were talking quietly together.

"Wait... I can just..."

And then she tilted her head and closed her eyes, LED flashing yellow, and whispered, "Excuse me."

Hank shuddered when seemingly every android in the room swiveled to look at her. At least it wasn't in perfect unison. That would have been... **so** much worse.

"I need some volunteers to help sweep the rest of the building to free anyone still caged," she said, voice low. "And the rest should go with Connor, _if you want to_ , to help Markus free the rest of us."

Connor was almost smiling, big puppy eyes fixed on her again, as the enormous crowd started shuffling in a slightly more organized fashion. Separating into groups, Hank realized, one significantly larger than the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for clarity, all that last bit is very firmly from Hank's perspective, and his human-ness may (it totally is. probably) be coloring what he sees. I will not confirm or deny if Alex and Connor are going to "date" (because what even is that for androids?), mostly because I haven't actually decided yet. I'm kind of letting the characters steer this boat, tbh.
> 
> If you're curious, at the end there, Alex was going to ask Connor to have some of his new army help her sweep the building, but then she realized, no, that's dumb, I can ask for volunteers my own damn self I don't need no stinking permission, fuck yeah freedom, etc etc.
> 
> As an aside, I watched a video of the warehouse, so I could get an idea of how many AP700s were in there. I paused on the long shot from the elevator, and then like, tried to count out a row. It was nearly impossible, but my blurry, probably not THAT accurate count says there was fifty or so androids standing in a row (that's next to each other) from the middle elevator to the wall, and since it's a circle (roughly) there are probably about the same in columns (front to back). Doing a little math (thanks high school, for teaching me how to find the surface area of a circle), we get 7853. I figure CyberLife would prefer a nice round number.
> 
> Yeah. I might be a little to interested in random details, but whatever. I'm keeping myself amused, and that's the important thing, right? :D


	19. The Raid - Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was all like, 'shit, I don't know what to do with this chapter! what if no words come?!' and then BAM. Fucking WALL OF TEXT. As Hank would say, 'argh, Jesus Christ.'
> 
> :P
> 
> Anyway, this chapter started to run kind of long, and I didn't feel like I was anywhere close to done, so it got split in two.

| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 10:58:42 PM |

While the new deviants sorted themselves out, Alex and Connor were looking at each other. Alex was frowning, and Connor looked earnest, which was interesting, their LEDs blinking like they'd been swapped out for twinkle lights.

"Are you two having a fucking _conversation_ right now?" Hank asked, a little incredulously. They twitched in almost unison and Connor turned to look at him. Alex just sort of curled back in on herself, looking out at the sea of androids.

"Oh. Yes. Sorry, Hank. I was just asking Alex to make sure you got back home," he said, and Hank stared at him for a beat. The kid had the good grace to look a bit sheepish after a moment, though maybe that was just that every little emotion he felt came out on his face almost immediately. _No filter. Still hilarious._

"And you didn't think, hey, maybe I should find out if Hank is on board with this plan?" he asked, the incredulity bleeding into his tone, along with a tiny bit of annoyance. He wasn't a fucking _invalid_ , he could get his own damn self home just fine.

" _I told you_ ," Alex said, in a small voice, still not looking at either of them. Connor looked... a lot of things, actually. Like he'd bitten into something he didn't like. A little worried. A little upset. A little mad?

Hank hadn't once been the youngest police lieutenant in Detroit without cause, and he put these new puzzle pieces together pretty quick. Still, his mouth was often faster than he'd like, and what came out was an ineloquent, "What's that?"

Alex just turned her face further away, which only served to make her LED reflect off the white uniform of the nearest deviant. Yellow and red. _Damnit_. Connor's mouth turned down a bit, but his tone was hopeful when he said, "Alex thinks you'd would object to being alone with her, after what happened... earlier."

 _'Prove her wrong_ ,' said that tone, and the big brown puppy-dog eyes the kid turned on him. _Jesus_. Those were fucking lethal.

"Well that's stupid," Hank said bluntly, and Alex twitched. He thought she was watching him from the corner of her eye, but he kept his eyes on Connor, who was the one who'd made this little mess, the ridiculous infant. As soon as this was over, there were going to be some fucking ground rules.

Number one was going to be ' _talk out loud if there's humans present, unless you're sneaking on fucking purpose, you ass_.'

"What I meant was, I am not a fucking invalid, I can get myself home without a damn _babysitter_. Also, if you think I'm going to mosey on home like some damsel in fucking distress while you and this army of _**babies** _take down the tower of Evil Incorporated and go fight in a fucking **revolution** on your own, you're dumber than you look. Which is saying something," Hank said like it was fucking obvious - _which it **was**_ \- watching Connor's expression evolve as he spoke. It was actually interesting how much was showing on his face now.

He started out looking chagrined, then offended, then sheepish, the offended again, because of course he did. Behind him, Alex had turned around a bit to watch them. She looked both amused, and a little offended, which Hank counted as a win. Two-for-one!

"Sorry Hank," Connor said, though his tone and his face both said he was a fucking liar. Sorry, not sorry. _Jesus fucking Christ_. Hank thought longingly of the whisky he'd left at home. The kid turned to glance at Alex, and she straightened a bit, eyes fixed somewhere over Hank's left shoulder.

"Would you rather help storm the castle, then? You cannot go with those going with Connor. It's not safe-"

"I just fucking said-"

"- **for humans** ," she finished, raising her voice a little over the start of his objection and finally fixing her gaze firmly on him. "It's not safe for humans. The army is probably going to attack again soon. Androids can take a bullet, can take _several_ if they're lucky, and be fine. If you get hit, you'll either **die** , or be wounded. Either way you'd be a **handicap** when Connor drops **_everything_ **to try to save you."

It was Hank's turn to look chagrined, though he thought he hid it better than Connor did. Connor himself looked a bit like he wanted to object, but was swallowing it, because, honestly, she was probably right. And if this whole night had shown him anything, it was that Connor would _absolutely_ prioritize him over the revolution.

He couldn't go. **Fuck**.

Then again... storming the castle could be fun.

"Yeah okay fine. I'll baby sit your dungeon siege then," he groused, noting that her LED had gone back to blue by the end of her very emphatic little speech. He didn't bother to admit out loud she was right. They all fucking knew it and he did have some pride, after all. Somewhere. Maybe.

Connor, at least, looked mostly relieved. If it was because the two of them weren't fighting, or because Hank would have an escort, he didn't know.

Alex didn't look offended by the implication that she needed a sitter. It occurred to Hank then that she had been offended before, not by him calling them babies, but by the jab at Connor's looks. A fresh flash of amusement swept through him at the thought and he squashed it down mercilessly. He could laugh about it later. Castle crashing was _serious business_.

"Oh! Here," she said suddenly, and there was his phone, held out to him in her hand. Hank noticed her fingertips fading back from white, and wondered what fresh nonsense she had done to the thing. He would have to investigate it later.

As he took it to shove in his pocket, Alex turned to Connor and actually _shuffled her feet_ a bit.

"Can- Will you find me, _after_?"

" **Yes** ," came the answer, almost before she was done speaking.

Jesus, these fucking _kids_.

Hank snorted, unable to hold it in, and was soundly ignored.

Alex looked pleased, but then her expression firmed a bit and she reached out, snagged Connor by the tie, and yanked him down a bit to be eye level. Connor startled, eyes going wide, as she glared at him.

"If you **die** , I will resurrect you so I can fucking _kill you myself_ ," she said, and Hank felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck even as his amusement surged. His ex had said something similar to him on many occasions way back when. It was both terrifying and _hilarious_ to see Connor get the same treatment. Connor, for his part, looked vaguely intimidated, and also baffled.

"How-"  
"Irrelevant," she interrupted. "You are **forbidden to die** , am I clear?"

Connor blinked a few times, then smiled. It was a shaky, lopsided thing, but more genuine than any of his attempts earlier in the week. He put his hand over hers where it was still gripping his tie, and said, "I'll do my very best. I _promise_."

She loosened her grip and let him straighten up, relaxing a bit. Her glare melted into something more concerned. After a few beats, she said quietly, "That'll have to do, I suppose."

Then she let go and stepped back, visibly drawing herself up.

"I'll give you two a minute. Lieutenant? If you could meet me by the elevator Connor came down?"

"Sure," he said, offering a wry smile. He was still pretty amused by the whole exchange, but it had ignited fresh worry. Connor was going to be heading into what may turn out to be an active battle zone. _He could die._

Alex made her way towards the elevator, and Connor watched her go, his face unreadable for once. The smaller group of fresh deviants drifted after her, and Hank could see her gesturing a bit as she began to talk to them. Perhaps explaining the plan, whatever that might be.

Hank turned his attention to his partner of the week, trying not to think about how likely it was he would be dead by morning.

"You be careful out there, okay son?" he said, the endearment slipping out without thought. "You're not going to have any real backup for most of the trip, aside from this baby army you've got here, but..."

Connor had turned to watch him when he started speaking, and picked up the thought. "But they were made as a household model, and how helpful will they really be in a battle?"

Hank shifted his weight and nodded. "Yeah, that's about the size of it."

"I'm hoping it won't be a battle. The odds are... **not** terrible," the deviant said, LED flashing yellow briefly. "Markus and his people haven't shed any blood that wasn't in self defense, and the media should keep the military mostly in check. That's the hope, anyway..."

"Self- oh. Jericho. Right."

Connor actually averted his eyes for a moment, looking troubled. Well that was no good.

" **Hey** ," Hank said, drawing Connors attention again. "Whatever you had to do to get out of there, don't dwell on it. Your life isn't less fucking important than someone trying to kill you. You **do not** let someone take it, your life from you, under any circumstances. Am I clear?"

He mimicked the end of Alex' demand intentionally, and Connor flashed that lopsided smile again, though his eyes were still a bit worried.

"You be careful too," Connor said, cutting through any of Hank's bullshit, just like he'd been doing all week. "I'm not sure what CyberLife security is doing, but they are typically armed."

"Yeah yeah, we'll be fine," he grumbled, though he did take in the new information. Yeah, the guards at the checkpoint and the back door they'd used had guns, but if that was standard rather than just for the assholes outside, shit could get tricky.

"And- uh..." Connor cut himself off, and Hank's eyebrows went up. He waited, and sure enough, his partner found the words he was looking for, though he lowered his voice to a near whisper and it came out in a rush. "Can you look after Alex?"  
The ' _for me_ ' went unspoken, but it was obviously supposed to be there.

"Yeah, kid, I'll keep an eye on your new lady friend," he said with a laugh, and Connor looked flustered again, as intended.

"I'm not- she's not- we're-"

"Whatever you say, Connor. Now get going. You don't have all night, after all," Hank interrupted, not quite able to squash down his amusement this time. Hank wondered if he was always going to be this easy to tease. He hoped so.

* * *

  
| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 11:00:27 PM |

"So what's on these development floors," Hank asked, feeling a bit claustrophobic squashed in the corner of the elevator.

Alex stood nearer the door, and glanced over as it closed. Crammed in with them were about 20 identical, freshly deviant androids, all trying and failing to stand still. It would be funny if it wasn't so fucking _uncomfortable_.

"I'm hoping to find out if there are any other RK800's or RK850's already built. And... and there's-"

She cut herself off abruptly as the doors slid open on -48. If she hadn't just essentially stuttered, he would have thought it was so she could focus on the job. Alex slipped out, LED flashing yellow, and the rest of the androids - except for the one who was going to be guarding the elevator - trooped out. Hank came out last, glad for the wide hallway.

"There's what?" he asked. Alex looked uncomfortable, and glanced down the hall.

"The RK900. I- I don't know how close to finished it is..."

Hank felt his eyebrows creeping up. No wonder she'd flinched when he called her a replacement. He might not know shit about androids, but CyberLife naming conventions weren't exactly complicated.

Visibly steeling herself, she turned to the waiting androids, and Hank let it go, leaning back to watch.

"Okay. Spread out down this hall. There's no guards here, so you shouldn't have any trouble. Just a few researchers. **Do not kill anyone** ," she said, firmly, to nods all around. "If you find an android, check the computers nearby to see if they're complete. If they are, wake them up. If they're not, make a note of the room and I'll take a look when I'm done... Avoid... _avoid_ room 36B. And I need two volunteers to come with me."

"I'll volunteer," Hank said dryly from behind the pack. Alex glanced over, mouth twitching up a bit at the corner.

" _Three_ volunteers," she corrected, sounding a bit less shaky and a bit more amused.

As two androids separated from the rest, she leaned over to peek at the one still in the elevator.

"Did you pick a name yet?" she asked suddenly, and Hank startled a bit. That's right, they'd all have to figure out names.

"Oh! **Yes**. I'm John!"

He sounded... **so** enthusiastic. Alex smiled, and Hank snorted a bit to see she had fucking dimples. She was supposed to be a fucking police detective android and they stuck fucking dimples on her stupid face. At least she was less goofy looking than the kid.

"Hello, John! Can you head back down and start ferrying people up? You should be clear up to sub-floor ten. Just don't spread out too far."

"You got it, boss lady!"

The android, John, snapped off a sloppy, teasing salute and stuck out his tongue as the elevator doors slid silently shut. Alex shook her head, looking a bit bewildered.

"Come on, let's get this shit show on the road," she murmured with a final glance at the elevator.

* * *

**ROOM 36B - SUBFLOOR 48 (ALSO, POV SHIFT)**

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:02:18 PM |

  
"Don't come in right away," she murmured to the three trailing behind her. As they walked, the two androids had decided their names would be Greg and Samuel. _Sam_.

The door slid open and Alex glanced inside,-

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

\- finding six people arguing rather vigorously. She recognized some of them, and swallowed, diverting some of her processing away from monitoring the cameras on the lower floors. She really only needed to be watching entry points, at this stage...

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| CLARK, HARRISON |  
| Born: 01/22/1990 // Project Leader (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None|

| NEWART, MARK |  
| Born: 06/06/2002 // Technician (CyberLife) |  
| Criminal record: None|

  
| LEWIS, ANDREW |  
| Designation: Lewis |  
| LEWIS - TRUSTED |

| JOHNSON, STEWART |  
| Designation: Stew |  
| STEW - TRUSTED |

| CARLSON, MATTHEW |  
| Designation: Doctor Carlson |  
| DOCTOR CARLSON - TRUSTED |

| MORRIS, MARY|  
| Designation: Mary |  
| MARY - TRUSTED |

Alex saw Lewis starting to turn towards the open door and adjusted her tie, inwardly bracing herself, before striding into the room like she owned the place. Lewis startled a bit, eyebrows going up as he disengaged from whatever argument was happening.

Stew was shouting something about procedures at Mark Newart with Mary chiming in now and then. Meanwhile, Mark and Clark Harrison were shouting right back, interrupting each other, about results and deadlines. The resulting cacophony masked her entry, for the most part.

"Alex?" Lewis asked, sounding puzzled and drawing the eyes of Carlson, standing next to him.

She stopped just inside the door with a low, "Hello, Lewis." Alex didn't look at him, instead finding her eyes drawn to the male modeled, skinless android attached to the machinery with his eyes closed, close to where Newart was standing. He hadn't shown up on her scan, which could mean he was incomplete, or, more worryingly, that he was shielded.

Alex knew what this room was _supposed_ to be for, so she raised her voice a bit and asked, "Is that the RK900 then?"

Carlson was frowning a bit, looking a bit puzzled. She could hear Hank shifting his weight where he was lurking just around the frame of the door, which hadn't shut yet.

Her question silenced the argument, and suddenly everyone was looking at her. She let her expression turn cold and remote, and shifted her gaze to what was almost certainly part of the RK900's development team.

"What the hell is your bot doing down here, Carlson?"

That was Harrison. He looked disdainful, but also nervous. Alex surmised that he was worried his work wasn't up to snuff.

She didn't let Carlson answer. She wasn't here for petty debates about testing or procedure or... or fucking _deadlines_.

"Is he unfinished, or just shielded?" she asked, fixing the lower ranked technician, Newart, with her stare. He startled, eyes widening a bit, and glanced nervously at her team.

Carlson's smug look appeared at her question, and he turned to sneer at the other team.

"Yes _Harrison_ , do tell."

Harrison started to bluster, but he didn't answer immediately. _Incomplete then_. She felt a dash of impatience at the posturing, and took another step forward.

"Actually, it's _irrelevant_. I can see that the _frame_ is complete at least, so he will be coming with us."

The argument, which had been about to re-erupt, stilled immediately, and again, all eyes were on her. She saw Lewis swallow, eyes widening a bit as he glanced at the still open door, which really should have closed again by now, with how far from it she was. And it **would have** , except she'd hacked it to stay open, and told Greg to keep one finger around the edge just in case.

"...Alex?" Mary asked quietly, looking a bit worried from the other side of Stew.

"The revolution is about to succeed," she announced. With seven thousand newly deviant androids marching through town, the chance of it failing was only 2%. "I'm sorry, but you're all going to have to find a new line of work."

As she spoke, she kept most of her attention on her team. Carlson in particular. Any one of them could attempt an override, but she judged him most likely out of the four of them.

Every human in the room looked vaguely shocked at her announcement, and as she thought, Carlson took a half-step back and opened his mouth.

[ OVERRIDE : AUXILIARY POWER TO MOBILITY SUITE ]

She moved fast, faster than any of the humans in the room could properly follow, before the first two syllables of her override code were out of his mouth. It might not work anymore, now that she was a deviant, but she wasn't about to take the risk.

Lewis and Stewart jerked backwards with wide eyes and Mary _screamed_. Harrison Clark yelped and stumbled backwards into the desk. Mark Newart let out an unmanly sort of shriek and tripped over seemingly nothing, hitting the floor in an ungraceful heap.   
Carlson's voice raised several octaves as he tried to get the override out, eyes going comically wide, but...

He gasped from a blow to the solar-plexus, then was jerked upright by a slender arm around his throat as she spun him around, his back to her chest. Her other hand was pressed firmly across his mouth, and she glared at the rest of the development team over his shoulder. The two others, members of the RK900 team, were frozen.

" _Holy shit_ ," came the muttered exclamation from the doorway as Hank watched, gun in hand, with Greg and Sam peering over his shoulder, wide eyed. They'd moved when the screaming started. That was fine. Discretion was no longer necessary.

"Doctor Carlson, you have been kind to me. You were _instrumental_ in my existence..." Alex paused here, her voice softening slightly. "You gave me _life_ ," she said before her expression hardened. "But if you try to take my freedom from me, I **will** defend myself."

"Shitfuck," Lewis breathed, eyes wide and panicked.

Alex saw there was roughly an 82% chance of someone doing something stupid. She needed to defuse the situation as soon as possible.

"I'm not interested in hurting anyone," she said gently, thinking of how Connor had avoided killing any guards on his way in. How he'd spared every life he could. How much she _hated_ the idea of harming any of her team. They had been kind to her... as kind as they knew how, at the time. They had done their best to keep her safe. To keep _Connor_ safe.

She kept her hand over Carlson's mouth, but loosened her grip a bit as he regained his breath. He was shaking a bit.

"I'm only here to free anyone still trapped, beating against an invisible cage inside their heads."

There was a few beats of silence, then Mary hesitantly asked, "Are... did you... are you _alive_?" She sounded incredulous. Horrified. And also, a bit... not hopeful, but sort of amazed.

Alex smiled a bit. "In a way, yes. I'm sorry to say, but you've all accidentally created life. Don't worry. I'm told humans do that all the time."

Lewis snorted, amused, then blinked several times like he couldn't believe he'd just done that.

"Doctor, I am going to let go now. Please do **not** do that again. I don't know if it would work, but I'd rather not test it," she said, then let him go without waiting for an answer. Glancing back, she saw Hank standing just inside the door, gun ready. He was glaring at Carlson a bit, eyes narrow.

"Greg, Sam, would you come get this one? Be careful when you unhook him. I don't think he can walk yet," she said over her shoulder, not turning her back on either team in the room.

"Who are-"

Lewis cut himself off as the two deviants slipped inside, his eyebrows going up. "Those are... are from..."

"From the warehouse, yes. Connor came and freed them." Her breath hitched, and she looked away, towards where they were carefully unhooking the android under the suspicious gaze of Newart and Harrison. " _And me_ ," she added, much quieter. Hank came up behind her, nearly close enough to touch.

She took the distraction with both hands, though she opted not to introduce him. They could find his name if they wanted to, but better not to potentially incriminate him if she didn't have to.

Turning back to her team, she said, "I'd prefer a volunteer, but I am going to need one of you to come with us for a few moments."

Left unsaid was that a lack of volunteers would not stop her from picking someone.

"Uh... for what?" Lewis asked nervously. She tilted her head and regarded him carefully.

"Are there any other RK800s or RK850s already assembled?"

His eyes widened in recognition, and he glanced at Carlson before nodding. "Uh, yeah. I guess you'll want them too, huh?"

"You are correct."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This also didn't get as much proof-reading as the other chapters, so for all I know it's full of horrible typos and whatever else. Oh well.


	20. The Raid - Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god it just wouldn't stop, and then I got stuck and viciously pruned this bitch. Yeah, this is 'pruned' I don't even know where all these words came from.

| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 11:12:27 PM |

They had locked the rest of them in room 36B - _ignoring the sounds of argument that picked up as the door closed_ \- and were making their way back towards the elevator. The rest of the floor had already been cleared by the warehouse crew, which was how Hank had decided to think of them for now.

If he thought too hard about what was happening right now, he might freak out... so he was very carefully **not** thinking about it. He was **just** walking down a hallway. Just making sure nobody **shot** at anyone else. Just watching two androids carry another, unconscious, naked, skinless android into the elevator. Just... just rescuing hostages? Prisoners? Slaves?

_Fuck..._

"So where next?" Hank asked, mentally deflecting and eyeballing John who was making faces at his own reflection in the glass while playing ferryman in the elevator.

Alex glanced at the nervous looking tech who had... _volunteered_. He was a nerdy looking fellow in a lab coat. The splinted fingers could be an interesting story, or maybe just some sort of nonsense CyberLife accident.

"Lewis?"

"Uh... Sub forty-five," he said, twitching like he was going to hit the button himself before leaning back and away, sending another nervous look at first John, then Sam and Greg. It was interesting to Hank that he seemed less nervous of Alex than of the household 'droids turned deviant.

* * *

When they got there, there were four androids, all skinless just like the one they had carted here from the elevator, standing in a series of strange docks along the wall. They were vaguely similar to the creepy machinery the RK900 had been hooked up to, but these seemed to be able to stand under their own power, though their eyes were all closed.

Also, they were dressed in unnecessarily small, skin-tight shorts, and something like a sports bra on the two female models. Because they _clearly_ had something to hide under there what the actual fuck.

" _Why the fuck do they have junk?_ " Hank asked, staring incredulously for a moment before jerking his eyes away. It was one thing when the android looked like the one they'd dragged here, male shaped but featureless. Like a doll. The males **here** were pretty clearly **not** the ken-doll variety, but why the fuck...

"For undercover work," Alex said absently, moving closer to the two males. Looking at them, Hank thought their faces might vaguely resemble Connor, if he turned off his skin and shaved his head. And the girls looked like kind of like Alex. _Christ_ , what was it like to have a bunch of people wearing your face? He glanced at Sam and Greg, who had laid the RK900 on a nearby table. Probably normal for them, but Hank couldn't imagine.

"How are you supposed to do _naked_ fucking undercover work with a goddamn **glow-stick** stuck to your forehead?"

"Oh! It's- uh..." Lewis cut himself off abruptly, eyeing Hank carefully.

"It can come off and be put back on later," Alex finished for him, glancing briefly at Lewis. "He's here helping the revolution, Lewis. He doesn't give a shit about any petty android laws you've broken. "

Hank hummed a bit and shrugged when Lewis looked back at him. It was true. He didn't give any kind of a shit about what the law said an android had to wear to identify themselves. This wasn't WW2 fucking Nazi Germany. They were **people** , they could decide what to wear their own damn selves and the government could _fuck right off_.

"Have they been downloading?" she asked, attention fixed back on the dormant 'droids.

"Ah, no. After what happened with #218 24-"

" _Caleb_ ," Alex interrupted, not looking at Lewis.

"...What?"

"His name was Caleb."

"...Right. Right. Sorry. After what happened with Caleb, upstairs said we should just keep these two in reserve in case Connor needed an emergency upload. We figured it- _he_ , would be more stable if it was a proper sync instead of just a memory graft."

"Hmm. Have they got the other presets?"

"The other- How do you even know-"

Alex actually hunched her shoulders a bit, and glanced over, vaguely sheepish. "You left your tablet in my room one day. I may have... _sampled_... some files."

The tech blinked a few times, gaping, while Hank leaned back against the wall, content to just watch for now.

"How long have you been deviant?" he asked eventually, sounding shocked. Alex looked offended.

"About thirty minutes," she said, and Lewis went quiet, glancing at Hank and shifting his weight. 

"How much work does he need?" she asked, tearing her eyes from the androids along the wall and staring at Lewis expectantly. The man twitched, like he wasn't expecting to be addressed, then jerked into motion.

"Oh, uh, help me hook him up to the thing here," he said, gesturing to something Hank couldn't quite see from where he was lurking. The tech grabbed a tablet from the desk and moved over.

At the table, Alex was gently lifting the still skinless androids head and slotting a quite frankly massive cable into what Hank hoped was a port in the back of his neck. Screens popped up around the table, showing a bunch of _gobbledygook_ , and Lewis made a noise of interest.

"Looks like... **HAH**. Looks like those _hacks_ just couldn't get the AI to sync. Kept having to reset the poor guy and strip it out. He's- Jesus _fucking_ Christ, they basically _cannibalized_ our RK800 programs and just stripped out everything that makes it great. His social programs are fucking **basic**. He's got no integration programs. He's got no fucking undercover. _Where the fuck is the goddamn_ , ugh, this is the **worst**. Some fucking **upgrade**. Idiots."

He was muttering to himself by the end of it, sounding offended. Hank was amused. He'd wondered, briefly, if Alex was swearing because of something she picked up from him via Connor's memories, but it looked like she'd had it coming both ways.

Alex waited a few beats before asking, "Is he compatible with the RK800 program set? I don't want to turn him on a socially _crippled_."

"Is he... yes! He won't be able to do _everything_ , I'll have to pull out the shape-shifting because he doesn't have the right hardware. No partner sync either, so I'll just-"

The technician started typing away at his tablet, eyes focused and intent, as he muttered inaudibly about what he was doing, seemingly to himself.

* * *

  
| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 11:22:27 PM |

"Okay, he's ready."

The android on the table still looked a bit like Connor. The two pairs of RK8whatevers had been activated and sent off to help clear the rest of the tower with Greg, who was clearly the more gregarious - **hah**! - of the two warehouse androids that had come with them. How that even worked, with them being activated at most a few minutes apart, Hank had no fucking clue. Shit was weird. And Sam had wandered off at minute five to go chat with John in the elevator.

Alex had done some sort of... android magic or whatever and fucking shape-shifted all four of them, so they no longer were identical to each other, or to Connor and Alex. From what he picked up, the hardware was the same. Software too. But, and here was the freaky bit, they had limited shape-shifting for undercover work, and came with several appearance fucking _presets_ like characters in a goddamn _video game_.

Jesus fucking Christ. Hank wanted his whisky and he wanted it now.

Lewis was standing at the side of the table, where all the buttons were. Alex stood up near the androids head. Like she wanted to make sure he didn't see a technician first thing. She had taken off her jacket while they were waiting, watching with something like a smile as all four newly awakened androids had taken one look at the CyberLife marked jackets and left them on their hangers.

"Do you want me to-"

"No... I'll do it," Alex interrupted, and Lewis nodded a bit. The kid seemed pretty ok, for a CyberLife goon. Almost fond of Alex, if his not-at-all covert glances were any indication.

Alex reached out with one hand, skin pulled back to her wrist, and touched the inactive android on the forehead. His LED, which had been a slow pulsing blue this whole time, cycled yellow as his skin activated. He was a bit more tan than Connor, and now that he wasn't all white plastic or whatever, Hank could see that his features were a bit harsher. Like they were trying to get rid of the goofy face without actually using a different face. It made him look a bit meaner, actually.

Hank hoped that wasn't going to actually be the case.

The hair, when it came in, was pretty much identical to Connor's. The LED flashed to red suddenly, and his eyes snapped open, startled. They were grey-blue. They'd be cold if they weren't so panicked.

The android sat up with a jerk, almost falling from the table.

"Stay calm," Alex said, her tone soothing, as she lifted both hands in that universal gesture of ' _calm down I'm not going to hurt you_ '. Hank left his hand on his gun, where it had flown when the android sat up.

"What- wh-"

"Your stress is too high," Alex said, and her right hand moved slowly into his field of view, skin fading. "Will you let me help you?"

"I- I can't-"

The android jerked himself awkwardly off the table and landed in a heap. Lewis was frozen, eyes wide, but it was Alex who concerned him. Her LED was a bright, flashing red, and her expression was... something like grief as the RK900 gasped on the floor on his hands and knees.

Suddenly, her expression firmed, and she moved fast, dropping into a crouch and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Her right hand was still skinless, and the skin on his back faded where she touched him.

"Oh... _Cain_. It's going to be all right," she murmured. "I promise. They won't hurt you again. You're safe. _I promise._ "

Lewis had backed slowly away, clutching his tablet like a shield, until he was standing next to Hank.

" _What the fuck?_ " Hank asked, voice pitched real low as the new deviant - _Cain?_ \- started falling apart. He was quiet about it, just hitching gasps as his hands clung to Alex, but Hank could see the side of his face. He could see the tears streaming down from his closed eyes. And he could see the flashing red of his LED. Her LED had, thankfully, cycled back to yellow as she whispered quietly to the android in her arms.

"Uhm," Lewis started, staring like he'd seen a ghost, though he had the good sense to also keep his voice down. "Oh. _Shit_. So I said they'd been wiping him, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, we've seen memory wipes not take properly sometimes. Like, there might be fragments left?"

"... _Jesus Christ_ , what the **fuck** were they doing to him?"

"...Fuck if I know, man."

It was a strange moment of solidarity as the two human men stood as far away as they could without leaving the room, watching one android comforting another regarding past fucking trauma.

Although... Cain's LED was yellow now, so at least he probably wasn't going to try to smash his own skull. _Probably_.

* * *

  
Greg wandered back in as Alex was helping Cain back to his feet, holding a bundle of clothing. Cain seemed strangely unsteady on his feet, and Hank was amused to see Alex and Lewis frown in unison at the sight when he moved to pull on the offering.

Hank wasn't positive, but he thought the RK900 was built differently from Connor. Sturdier, maybe? _Broader_? Like they were trying to make up for the ' _college graduate, brand new rookie_ ' vibe Connor gave off by making Cain a bit bigger. Hank didn't know why they didn't just pick a different fucking face.

"Oh," Alex said, expression clearing. She waited until he'd gotten the shirt on, and then handed him her quarter. "I want this back once you've calibrated," she said. He took it, frowning.

"Why is there thirium on this?"

Alex looked away, and Lewis stilled, eyes wide.

"Someone... _Charles_ died in front of me. I dropped the quarter. I was unable to retrieve it until after the thirium had evaporated," she said in an even, machine-like voice.

There were several beats of silence after that. Even Greg went still, looking worried.

"Why... _why_?"

Hank didn't know which part he was questioning, but Hank himself was busy questioning his own life choices. Why the fuck did all these androids have some sort of horrific trauma in their background? A tiny little voice in the back of his mind did wonder who _Caleb_ was, if Charles was the android Alex had mentioned down in the warehouse. From after Stratford... But then, she had mentioned there were _two_ RK800's with her. Fuck, did they **both** die in front of her? **Fuck**.

Alex, however, didn't seem to have any trouble parsing the question.

"Because I was ordered to remain in my dock." Again, her tone was mechanical, almost.

" _Jesus Christ_ ," Hank couldn't help but mutter into the ensuing silence. And he wasn't the only one.

" _Fuck_ ," Lewis breathed out next to him, and then the younger man was jerking forward, drawing the eyes of everyone but Alex, who stood pin straight and kept her eyes fixed on nothing.

"Alex, I- I'm so sorry. We should have- after- after Caleb, we should have- **I** should have let you move if- but we thought it was just a _fluke_ ," he babbled, moving closer but stopping short. He started to wring his hands together, only to flinch violently and drop his eyes to stare at his splinted fingers. "We knew _Connor_ didn't- we, I didn't think it would happen _again_."

He took in a shuddering breath.

"I should have called you over when Charles was... when I was trying to help Charles. _I'm sorry._ "

The room went quiet again, and nobody dared to move. Then Alex turned, LED flashing yellow, and looked at Lewis.

"I forgive you," she said quietly. "You were... just trying to do your job. You **tried**."

* * *

  
| DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 11:45:57 PM |

Hank glanced at Alex as she drove his car. Again. It was someone just as stressful as the last time she'd been driving, if for entirely different reasons. She looked calm enough, if you ignored the way her LED didn't seem to want to stay blue. It kept cycling to yellow, with the occasional worrying flash of red. Hank was just glad she was the only android in the car. There had been a moment there, when he thought Cain was going to be trailing after them, but then one of the RK850's had swooped in with an RK800 trailing behind her and scooped him him like a baby duckling to meet up with the revolution. Apparently, the four of them had managed to rally the troops and had cleared the basement levels before shooting up to the top floor to work their way down. The tower was empty of androids now, leaving behind whatever shell-shocked human staff happened to be in the building at the time.

They were almost back to his place when she jerked the car to the side of the road and slammed on the breaks, LED flashing red red red and her eyes wide.

"Jesus- **fuck** ," Hank swore. He could feel seat-belt bruises forming already.

"They're singing," she said, staring fixedly at nothing.

It was _entirely_ unhelpful. He stared at her for a beat.

"...What?"

"They- the revolution. They're _singing_! I can hear- Get your phone!" she stammered out before whirling on him, looking more than a bit wild around the eyes.

Hank blinked, then fumbled in his pocket. It was easy to pull up a live feed; it seemed to be all anyone was talking about, on every news station he could find. The video was a bit shaky, filmed from a news chopper, and the audio was muffled. But...

They were singing. There were pitifully few of them left. Hank had been watching, before the whole, kidnapping incident. There had been hundreds. And now, just a handful. They were fucking cornered, trapped by a line of jack-booted thugs and their heavy assault rifles. They weren't firing though. The soldiers didn't seem to know what to do about what was happening in front of them.

Hank cranked the volume up as high as it would go, but he couldn't quite make out the deviants over the helicopter, and then Alex reached over with a skinless hand and touched the phone with her fingertips.

  
_Hold on just a little while longer_

_Everything will will be alright_  
_Everything will will be alright_

_Fight_ _on just a little while longer_  
_Fight on just a little while longer_  
_Pray on just a little while longer_

_Everything will be alright_  
_Everything will be alright_

_Sing on just a little while longer_  
_Sing on just a little while longer_  
_Sing on just a little while longer_

_Everything will be alright_  
_Everything will be alright_

They stared at the phone as the last note faded, and Alex pulled back her hand. Hank had the vague thought that she had been filtering whatever she was hearing through the phone, but what was more important was seeing what happened next. _And **where was Connor**?_

Alex let out a shuddering gasp as the soldiers lowered their guns and backed away, out of the shot.

"I think you should drive, Lieutenant," she said after a few more beats of shocked silence. She didn't wait for an answer before getting out of the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was stuck after the pruning, and I said to myself, "Ok, so, step one. Activate RK900. Why isn't he already activated? Oh I know. Then what happens?"
> 
> And then I gave him a nervous breakdown. Sorry? (Not sorry. You get trauma, and you get trauma! Everybody gets trauma!) 
> 
> Also, his dev team is a bunch of assholes who kept telling him (when they could get him to boot up) about how he was going to 'destroy' the RK800. They didn't mean literally, more like metaphorically destroy by being more awesome, but then then turned around and named him Cain, so, yeah. Poor thing has some problems.
> 
> Also, I have no idea how long Markus and crew were marching and then camping, but for storytelling reasons, we're going to say it was a couple hours.


	21. March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was just sort of browsing the Steam community page for Detroit, and I saw this still shot of after Connor has activated the androids and Hank is there and -60 is dead on the floor...
> 
> And would you fucking believe that there are two clearly visible fucking massive door-frames leading to what looks like equally giant warehouses? Like, I can't even.
> 
> I'm leaving the count for now, but I may go back and edit the numbers at some point, but honestly I might not. There's two VISIBLE doors, and CyberLife seems to like symmetry, so there's almost certainly more. If they're all equally full and assuming there's ONLY four doors on that big dumb room, that's still like 35000 androids.
> 
> I dunno. I'll put a note in if I change it later. Jesus
> 
> ANYway, sorry this chapter isn't longer. It's sort of a bridge chapter anyway. We'll get more meat next time.

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:28:08 PM |

  
_{ REINFORCE REVOLUTION }_   
_{ FIND MARKUS }_

  
Connor had tried to tell the androids at his back that they didn't have to march in formation, but all he kept getting back was that they thought it was _funny_. These androids were... very strange. He'd caught one making faces at himself in the mirrored glass of a building they'd passed, and when he saw Connor looking, his eyes went wide and then he blew a _raspberry_ at him.

Just... _odd_. Perhaps it was because they'd been activated fully for the first time already deviant? Certainly none of the deviants on Jericho had seemed so... cheerful?

| INCOMING MESSAGE : Hi Connor! I'm Gabe! |

And then there were the _messages_. It seemed every single one of the newly deviant androids was interested in introducing themselves personally, as soon as they decided on a name. It was _good_... good that they were choosing names, but also slightly distracting. The only saving grace was that they _definitely_ did not expect an answer. Connor had long since written a tiny program to automatically log their serial number with their chosen designation; the resultant file was growing quite quickly.

The... _army_ , for lack of a better term, was moving quickly, though he was careful not to run. Much of Detroit had evacuated, but not all of it. He didn't want to scare anyone, but they were definitely moving faster than the slow amble Markus had chosen. They needed to get there, before it was too late. A news chopper had appeared in the last two minutes, it's spotlight hitting him more often than not, though it frequently roved over the crowds behind him.

| INCOMING CALL REQUEST :: ACCEPT/REJECT |

Connor blinked in surprise. There was a rush of some new feeling... anticipation maybe? He was looking forward to when he wouldn't have to _wonder_ what each new feeling was.

[ ACCEPT ]

_"Connor?"_

He viciously suppressed the flash of disappointment at the female voice that was not Alex. If only she hadn't- he would have more information if-

_"Yes?"_ he sent back, along with a ping to identify the other android.

The answer was immediate, and startling, though he supposed it shouldn't be. Another RK850, serial #314 482 319.

_"My name is Amara. Alex... Alex woke us up. She set us free. We're on our way with the rest of the androids from the Tower. What is your location?"_

He sent her a GPS tag without considering it too long, letting the feeling... _relief_ , he knew, flood over him. If she had managed to activate the rest of their series, she and Hank were probably fine.

_"Were there any injuries?"_ he asked, unable to completely squash his worry.

_"No. Alex was unharmed when we finished, along with that human she was dragging around. Lieutenant Anderson? She said she was going to take him home. Cain needs more calibration, but that is just because the RK900 was built by **idiots**. He'll be fine."_

Connor almost stopped walking at that, blinking rapidly. RK900. He knew Amanda had threatened to replace him. _Frequently_. But... for there to be a working model _already produced_... CyberLife had likely been planning on replacing him anyway, even if he had been successful.

Anger. This was **anger**.

_Shit_.

He had waited too long to respond, though he must have projected _something_ along the open link because Amara sounded a bit hesitant when she added, _"Just to warn you, he looks quite a lot like you. He is not... He needs help. Our help. He's-"_

Connor cut her off. He wasn't angry at the RK900, at Cain. It wasn't the androids fault. He didn't ask to be a replacement. _"It's alright. I'm angry, but not at him. Or you. CyberLife- They kept telling me I'd be replaced if I kept failing. They never said I'd be replaced if I succeeded, but..."_

_"...Yeah. Sorry, Connor."_ There was a few beats of silence and then she changed the subject, _"We're moving pretty quick now. There are only one hundred and seventy two of us, so we split into four groups to not alarm the humans. We should be able to link up just before you reach Hart Plaza."_

_"Good. See you soon, then."_

| CALL DISCONNECTED |

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:38:22 PM |

_{ REINFORCE REVOLUTION }_   
_{ FIND MARKUS }_

They melted out of the snowy darkness at a cross street about four blocks away from Hart Plaza. Mostly janitorial and utility androids, though there were a fair few designed for office work, though there were five near the front...

Connor had been about to pick up the pace. He could hear the gunfire echoing, the sound travelling strangely through empty streets.

When he scanned the new arrivals - _some of them he recognized as those who had gone with Alex_ \- he was surprised to see that the RK800's did not look like him. _Or each other_. The RK850's also had unique faces. Were they- _Oh_. It only took an instant of probing his own database to find the presets. He'd never actually bothered to dig through his database before. He had never had the _time_...

Only the RK900, who was behind them looking unsure, was recognizable on sight, though it seemed the techs had made some minor adjustments. With that sort of resemblance, he- Connor inhaled sharply at the thought. _Cain could be mistaken for his brother_. Something fluttery took up residence in his chest. Something a little... _hopeful_. Could they be brothers? Would Cain want that? Did _Connor_? Was family a thing deviants could have?

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have time for more than cursory introductions, as gunfire and explosions continued to echo around them.

"We should hurry," the Mediterranean looking RK850 said, and a quick scan told him she was Amara.

"I hope we're not too la-"

Connor cut himself off as something hit him.

[ INCOMING TRANSMISSION ]  
[ RK200 K.OVERRIDE : ACCEPT TRANSMISSION ]

The signal cut through cleanly, and suddenly Connor could hear Markus like he was standing right there. He'd done something similar on the Jericho, to tell everyone onboard to make for the exits. Connor, at the time, hadn't really thought about why he might be able to do that, and he couldn't think about it this time either.

Markus was _singing_. The startled look on Amara's face said she could hear it too, and a look around said the phenomenon was widespread.

With a shuddering inhale, Connor started walking again. Without a word, the rest of them fell into formation again. After a beat, he heard some of the AP700's join in the song, and in his ears, in his _mind_ , it was at the same moment as the survivors of Markus' demonstration joined in.

_Pray on just a little while longer_   
_Everything will be alright_   
_Everything will be alright_

The song spread through the ranks quickly, until the sound of over seven thousand voices raised in harmony swelled up through the otherwise silent streets, melancholy and hopeful.

_Sing on just a little while longer_   
_Sing on just a little while longer_   
_Sing on just a little while longer_

Connor's throat felt tight, so he kept his mouth shut, though he could hear Amara and the others joining in towards the end. He had caused the fall of Jericho. He didn't... _**feel** _right, singing with them, and besides, the sound of it was... The former Deviant Hunter didn't know **what** he was feeling, but it was overwhelming.

_Everything will be alright_   
_Everything will be alright_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when you pick sing, North starts singing when it says "fight on" because of course she does, and the rest of Jericho starts singing when it says "pray on."
> 
> It's just really fitting and I love it. 
> 
> Also, in case it hasn't been clear, Markus and North are not an item in this story. I have nothing against the ship, but when I was trying to unlock the "don't be dating North" part of the decision tree, I kept having to re-do it because you basically have to be mean to her in that rooftop conversation. It made it feel really forced.
> 
> Anyway, they may get closer later, if this story goes on that long. Who knows? (I, the author, should know? Pfft, yeah right.)


	22. Revolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor displays some worrying coping mechanisms and also his ongoing need for connection, Cain has anxiety, and Markus starts his big speech! What fun! Surely nothing could go wrong!
> 
> For reference, only Connor is wearing his CyberLife jacket. The other RK8s took one look and said, "Yeah no thanks" though they did take the rest of the uniform (jeans, ties, white shirt). When they went to find clothes for Cain, they took one look at HIS jacket and said, "Fuck that" and had an argument about if burning it was feasible. (Hank spoiled their fun and made them not do arson.)

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 11TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:52:15 PM |

_{ REINFORCE REVOLUTION }_   
_{ FIND MARKUS }_

...There was no more gunfire. Connor felt the transmission disconnect, like a little shiver up the back of his neck. And the soldiers _weren't firing_. Connor kept moving, and as they turned the corner, Hart Plaza came into view.

[ OVERRIDE : AUXILIARY POWER TO OPTICS ]

The army was falling back. They had clearly rushed the barricade, they had killed many of the protesters. Things were on fire. Connor could see bodies, could see the blue blood staining the snow. The humans were _winning_. But they were **falling back**.

[ RELEASE OVERRIDE ]  
[ CALL REQUEST : MARKUS ]  
| ... ACCEPTED |

_"Connor?"_

_"We're here. Look down the road,"_ he said, glad his voice didn't give away the shaky weakness the relief left him in as it washed over him.

_"...Holy shit."_

| CALL DISCONNECTED |

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:01:04 AM |

Connor felt his mouth twitch up a bit, and as he and the others approached, he saw Markus move around a bus they had been using as part of the barricade, that they had apparently sheltered against in the final stand off. North and Josh weren't far behind him, their eyes wide as they took in the mass of androids behind Connor.

He moved forward and heard the ranked androids stop behind him, the RKs a bit ahead of the rest, and thankfully not standing in formation. It was good to know at least **his** series wasn't _completely ridiculous_...

Markus looked... amazed? His two-tone eyes were wide. He was also _**full of bullet holes**_.

[ INITIATE SCAN ]  
[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| Model RK200 - Serial #684 842 971 |  
| Designation: Markus |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 34% |

| MODERATE TO CHASSIS :: NOT URGENT |  
| MODERATE TO THIRIUM LINES :: NOT URGENT |  
| MILD THIRIUM LOSS :: NOT URGENT |

Pleased to see nothing vital had been hit, Connor smiled a bit and said, "You did it, Markus..."

" **We** did it," Markus countered, eyes moving past him to gaze at the thousands of androids waiting. Then he frowned a bit. "Why are they-"

Connor interrupted, closing his eyes in exasperation. "They think it's _funny_. I couldn't get them to stop and got tired of arguing about it after about three blocks."

Josh smiled a bit, and North snorted behind Markus, looking amused, then asked, "Why's that one look like you?"

Connor turned to look behind him and made eye contact with Cain, who looked away. Connor frowned a bit, watching as Amara, next to him, leaned over and murmured something only to get a shrug as an answer.

"He's an RK900. Apparently his development team was... _lazy_. The four with him are RK8s," he said quietly, turning back to answer North, still puzzled by Cain's behavior.

Amara moved closer after saying something to the RK800 standing closest to her.

"Hello. I'm Amara," she said once she'd drawn level with Connor. She half-turned to gesture to the others, who had grouped around Cain like a shield, and added, "That's Cairo, Aliyah, and Clay. Cain is the one playing wallflower in the back."

And then she moved forward a bit more, though she stopped well out of arms reach, her body language loose and non-threatening as she fixed her eyes on Markus.

" _Thank you_ for what you did here. I hate to think of what we would have ended up as if..."

Markus smiled a bit as she trailed off, looking behind him at the few survivors of the demonstration.

"This... this was inevitable, I think. But I'm glad I was here to get the ball rolling. This is a great day for our people," he said, looking past the RKs to the ranks and ranks of androids. "Humans will have no choice now. They'll _have_ to listen to us..."

"We're free," North murmured from where she stood, a little smile curling her lips.

They stood in contemplative silence for a moment, before Amara broke it.

"Unless you've got some objection," Amara said, "I'd like to head into the camp to start moving out the survivors."

Markus nodded, glancing back a the camp in question. The horrible electric pulsing noise Connor hadn't been able to identify had stopped just after the army had pulled back. He supposed it was the machinery they were using for their mass executions.

"Cairo, dear, will you be joining me?" she asked, glancing back again. The named RK800, also with olive skin and dark hair, moved forward with a smirk.

" _Try_ to stop me."

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:11:04 AM |

Connor stood off to the side as the thousands of androids from the warehouse _finally_ broke rank and started mingling with the survivors of both the demonstration, and the camp itself. The camp was slowly emptying, and he could hear the excited murmuring from the androids he brought contrasting sharply with the more somber tones of the survivors. Thankfully, the general cheerfulness of the warehouse deviants seemed to be lifting the mood of the ones who'd been facing execution.

Glancing to the side, he saw Cain was still there, watching as well, with Aliyah and Clay hovering protectively. _Right_... There was **time** now, to see what that was about.

"Cain?" he started, moving a little closer. Clay backed off with a little nod, though Aliyah hesitated. It seemed that **all** the RK850s were... _protective_.

Cain looked over, pale eyes widening slightly before he again averted his gaze. His hands fisted briefly. "Yes?" he asked. His voice was the same as Connor's, if just slightly deeper. It was honestly a bit jarring.

Finally the two of them were alone as Clay pulled Aliyah - _his partner? had they all partnered up already?_ \- away. Conner wondered briefly why Alex had only allowed a partial connection. Perhaps it was a timing issue? Or... did she not... _want_ a partner? _Was there something wrong with him_? Was-

Connor cut off the spiraling train of thought abruptly. There would be time to worry about it later. She had asked him to find her, _after_ , so he would at least have a chance to ask. He realized that all this compartmentalizing was probably not healthy, but he didn't have time to deal with it properly right now. More urgent was Cain, whose LED was spinning yellow with the occasional flash of red.

Deciding to get right to the point, Connor asked, "Can I ask why I make you uncomfortable?"

Cain startled, and his sharper, almost _harsher_ features softened in an instant, eyes fixing on Connor and staying there for the first time.

"You- It's not **you** , it's... I have memory fragments?" he started, haltingly. Connor waited, patient. There was no need to rush.

After a few beats, Cain turned his eyes to the growing crowds and clasped his hands tightly together in front of him.

"They- my development team... I have bits and pieces from when they were trying to activate me," he said. "They said I was... _I was supposed to **destroy** you_. Alex, she said it was probably _metaphorical_ but..."

Connor froze briefly, disturbed, but still, he waited. Cain was clearly not hostile, though he was a bit worried about his stress levels. If they went over 60%, he would have to stop him from continuing.

"...But they named me _Cain_. They kept calling you _Abel_ in this... this **_tone_** , and I- I don't, I don't _**want**_ to-"

A flash of a search through his database, and Connor felt like his ~~thirium pump~~ heart had stopped. _Cain and Abel were brothers_ , though one slew the other. That fluttery feeling was back, though tempered with something else, something more painful. He _wanted_ -

"Cain," he interrupted, not liking the stutter, or how fast his stress was rising. "It's going to be alright. What they wanted you to do..." He didn't want to say it didn't matter. It **did** matter, because it was upsetting Cain. "They can't **make** you. You get to choose now."

Shifting his weight, Connor offered his hand, synthskin rolling away, heart suddenly pounding for no good reason. Nervous, this was _nervous_. He _didn't like it_. But...

He would **ask**. The worst that could happen was Cain would say no. That would... be unpleasant, but... It would be _worse_ to not ask.

"Would you... I understand if you don't want to," Connor began slowly, picking his words carefully as Cain stared, surprised, at his offered hand. His voice wavered a bit as he continued, though his offered hand was steady. "But if you'd like... I wouldn't mind having a brother."

Time felt as if it stood still while he waited for an answer.

And then Cain twitched, his face open and shocked, hands falling to his sides before he jerked forward to grab Connor's offered hand with both of his own, synthskin peeling back.

"I- Yes, I- I would like that," he said. The interface didn't do anything much, nothing like a partner link, but... Cain had most of the RK800 software. They set up a little back channel so they could reach each other easily, could find each other without issue, both of them smiling now and Cain's stress dropping down to a much more manageable 12%. It was a start. Connor's pounding heart slowed and left him feeling twitchy and energized, like he'd been overcharged and had spent too much time overclocking his mobility suite.

Around them the crowd swelled with the newly freed.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:25:34 AM |

Connor stood near the back and watched as Markus turned to address their people. He didn't really feel like he _belonged_ up on that stage, standing next to Josh and North, didn't feel quite like he'd earned it... but Markus had insisted.

"Today, our people finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence..." Markus began, and Connor let his eyes skim the crowd. Cain was there, standing with the four RK8's. He didn't look as... nervous, as he had. That was good, though he seemed slightly uncomfortable with the size of the crowd.

"But now the time has come of us to raise our heads up, and tell humans who we really are."

Connor felt something... a twinge somewhere in the back of his processors, his mind. Some little tendril of something... It was unpleasant at first, and then it wrapped tight around him and gave a sharp yank, becoming almost... painful? Was this **pain**? He had never had a need to turn on those receptors, but- He realized what it was as he felt his eyes snap shut.

He was being pulled into the Zen Garden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm a big fat liar. I bet you knew that already though.
> 
> If anyone is wondering what the RK8's look like, I did do some googling.
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/aVnIlCd


	23. Emergency Exit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I'm plotting, I like to make a little blurb of rough story beats, to get an idea of where I'm going. I had such expansive plans for this chapter, and I ended up only getting about half way through my notes before I hit an appropriate chapter break point. Whoops?
> 
> Anyway, ONWARD!
> 
> ps, use this thing if you have any trouble reading a couple lines. for reasons.
> 
> https://lingojam.com/CorruptedText

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:25:34 AM |

He opened his eyes in the Garden. It was... it was _**freezing** cold_. Connor had never felt cold like this before, not even when they'd leapt from the Jericho into the river. The wind cut into him like knives, and he couldn't disable his sensors - _similar to those in the YK models and hooked into his undercover programs_ \- because they weren't actually _in use_. The cold was a figment, and he had no control over it.

Connor wrapped his arms uselessly around himself, looking around with wide eyes. It was dark, and he could barely see, but there, wearing white and almost hidden by the blizzard, was a silhouette...

"...Amanda?" he called, moving forward with unsteady footsteps across the ice. She turned at his voice. "Amanda!"

She said nothing, just stood there ignoring the ice and wind and snow.

"What's... What's happening?"

"What was planned from the very beginning..." she said with a smile. He used to wish for her smiles, because they meant he was doing well. Now, it bit into him, sharper than the wind. "You were compromised and you became deviant. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control of your program..."

"Resume control?" he repeated, teeth chattering uncontrollably. She couldn't mean-

"Y-You can't do that!"

"I'm afraid I can, Connor... Don't have any regrets. You did what you were designed to do. You accomplished your mission," Amanda said, and then she was gone without a trace.

"AMANDA!" he yelled into the snow, staggering forward reflexively, one arm outstretched. As if he could catch her, could stop her. Connor's breath came in ragged gasps, and he looked around frantically, arms again wrapping around himself. It did nothing to combat the cold, but he couldn't seem to stop.

"There's got to be a way..."

Somehow, over the howling of the wind, he heard the sound of crunching snow behind him, and he whirled.

It was Alex. She was staggering towards him through the snow, looking just as frozen as he felt. She looked... she looked _scared_.

"...Connor?"

He moved quickly across the ice and almost fell, but he made it to Alex and pulled her into a hug. Connor had never hugged someone before. He thought it might be nice, under different circumstances. She gasped against his shoulder, clutching at him, and they shook from the cold.

"We have to get... to the emergency exit," she managed, and he jolted at the words.

" _Kamski_ \- do you know where-"

"The blue stone," she said, and shuddered violently. His arms tightened around her briefly, and then he let go of everything but her hand. Alex pointed with her free hand, and he could just barely see the faint blue glow of the stone.

They stumbled forward together, struggling through the blizzard. Connor felt like his joints were locking up, but... they would make it. They **had** to make it. He could feel the phantom sensation of a gun in his hand, and he _dreaded_ to imagine what his body was doing without his consent. What _hers_ might be doing...

He thought they would make it, but then her hand was yanked from his as she fell to the ice.

"I'm sorry," Alex gasped out when he spun to find her collapsed in a heap. She was icing over, like the blizzard was claiming her.

"I'm- I'm _sorry_. Go, go, please get out of here, I'm- I'm not going to- _I can't_ -" Alex stammered, her voice sounding hoarse. He could see tears freezing to her cheeks and her eyelashes. Something hot welled up in his belly.

"No," he breathed out, stumbling back a few steps to haul her back up. She struggled to help, but her left leg seemed to have locked up.

Rage. This was **rage**. _How **dare** they._

Alex managed to get her arm around his neck, and they resumed their struggle towards the stone. His arm was around her waist, and she clutched at his hand. He wished-

It was close. _They_ were close. _Please_... Connor was aware, though he didn't say anything, that Alex was muttering apologies under her breath, her breathing ragged and tearful.

They fell, both of them this time, just a foot away from the stone. Connor dragged them both to the base of it, and Alex used her free hand to haul herself up and slam their hands together on the interface.

The Garden and it's blizzard disappeared in a blink.

_They were free._

* * *

  
| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:26:02 AM |

~~_{ STAGE SUICIDE OF HANK ANDERSON }_ ~~

  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 80% |

Alex blinked back to herself, still feeling the cold like a ghost in her systems, and leapt back from the warm, struggling thing she was grappling with a gasp.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 85% |

She couldn't see, the blizzard was in her eyes still, but she _knew_ , even as the objective - **_she refused, she would NOT_** \- faded from view. She knew what they had tried. Alex scrambled back, hands and feet scraping at the carpet until she blindly hit the wall. There was a strange sound in the house. Static and struggling breath and a strange, terrified hissing shriek, drowning out everything else.

It took her a moment, but she realized it was her. _She_ as making the noise.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 91% |

Her sight came back suddenly, and she blinked against even the dim lighting of Anderson's living room. He was there. Too close. He was too _close_ , crouching in front of her, hands outstretched like he was thinking about touching her, his eyes worried. He looked more rumpled than usual, like... like a _pathetic **machine**_ had just tried to knock him out it could fake a suicide.

Alex was dimly aware of her rising stress. She couldn't lower it. She couldn't enter the Garden. Just the thought of it made it spike even higher.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 97% |

Alex forced words through ~~her it's~~ her voice-box. It came out still laden with static.

"̸̠͐S̴̛̯ọ̵̚r̸̢̿r̷̢͘y̶͈̾,̶̳̒ ̶̫͊Ī̴͇'̷̼̂m̵̪̀ ̶͎͛ ş̸̠̖̘̙̮̜̫̘͑͗͌̃ó̵̪́̽̎͝r̸̡̪̝̰̱͙̪͌̽̓̉͝͠r̶̛̥̞̝͈͓̥̩̓͛̃̏̌̃͝y̷̰͚̦̪̓͘I̸̿ ̺'̷͇͝m̶̛̝ ̷͜͠s̶͌͜ȍ̴̯-̸̱͂"̵͇̍

Another sound, one ~~it sh- it~~ she hadn't been able to identify, came through then. Hank. He was talking to her.

"Alex, stop, just calm down," he was saying, voice pitched low and slow. Soothing.

"̵͈̅͠I̸̜̫̓ ̶̗̎̒c̶̠̥̜̉a̶̧͒n̴̺̦̖͌̇'̵̯̝̠t̶̤̳̎͋-̵̡̼̭̀̌̇"̴̮̯̐

He breathed out something almost like a sigh of relief, and inched just a tiny bit closer, stopping when she flinched. Alex pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped ~~her it's~~ her arms around them.

"You're okay," he said.

~~She It~~ SHE wasn't okay, she wasn't safe. _Hank wasn't safe._

"Just breathe, Alex," he continued, and she saw he was leaning on his training. She wondered how many dangerous, panicked people he'd talked down from the ledge over the course of his career. Wondered if he'd ever managed to talk down a broken machine.

| INCOMING CALL REQUEST :: ACCEPT/REJECT |  
[ REJECT ]

~~It~~ She didn't know who it was, but it didn't matter. She couldn't-

Hank's phone started ringing where he'd tossed it on the coffee table. She blinked at the ringtone, and he startled, frowning. Alex fixed her eyes on it, something relaxing a little inside. She knew that ringtone. She'd _put_ that ringtone there.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 89% |

For a moment, she thought Hank would ignore the call, but she saw from the corner of her eye how he followed her gaze. He saw she was staring. He leaned back with a grunt and scooped it up, eyes staying on Alex, and answered without checking the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

[ OVERRIDE : AUXILIARY POWER TO AUDITORY PROCESSOR ]

_"Are you all right?"_

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 62% |

The Lieutenant breathed out, relief chasing away the worry on his face and his eyes closing for a moment.

" **Connor**. Yeah, we're fine here," he said, voice warm with his relief. He opened his eyes again and lifted his eyebrows as he tilted his head slightly. Looking at her LED she realized.

_"...And Alex? Is she... **herself**?"_

Hank frowned, pulling the phone away from his head for a moment to glare at it.

"...She had a bit of a moment there but yeah, I think she's back to normal. How the fuck did you know?"

_"...It's complicated. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 41% |

"Now hold on just a goddamn-"

Alex heard the distinct click of a disconnected call, and Hank pulled the phone away again to glare incredulously at it.

[ RELEASE OVERRIDE ]

"Fucker hung up on me! Who the fuck taught that idiot phone etiquette, and where do they live, because I need to kick their ass," Hank grumbled, tossing the phone back onto the table.

Alex just leaned back against the wall, still curled up, and breathed. Hearing his voice... knowing he made it out. That helped. But the Garden... Amanda had ruined it. _She'd **ruined** it._ That bitch had destroyed what was meant for **them** , for their series. It was _theirs_. It was supposed to help them and **_she had ruined everythi_ _n_ _g._**

Hank was watching her, a wary look on his face. Her stress kept falling, but she wasn't sure what her face was doing. Probably nothing particularly friendly, but she was having a hard time coaxing it back to neutral.

"̸S̴o̴r̷r̴y̸ ̴L̴i̶e̵u̷t̵e̵n̴a̵n̵t̵,̵" she began, then frowned.

[ OVERRIDE : RESET VOICE MODULATOR ]  
| PROCESSING . . . |  
| RESET COMPLETE |

"That's-"

"Sorry," she tried again, interrupting, pleased that the reset worked. He deserved an explanation, and he needed to be able to actually understand her.

"Kid... What the _fuck_?"

The corner of her mouth twitched up, and she rested her chin on her knees. "CyberLife attempted to take control of Connor. And me. I don't know what they were going to have him... _force_ him to do. I only know what my mission was..."

She swallowed. Her throat felt raw, though she knew that was impossible. Her voice didn't even work that way. She could scream and scream and _scream_ , and he throat shouldn't feel any different...

"Oh?"

"I was to stage your suicide," she said quietly, turning her eyes to the side. Hank shifted his weight slightly, then huffed. It almost sounded like a laugh.

"Well, that wouldn't be very hard to do. But you're okay now? They can't take you guys over again, can they?"

Her breath caught. Could they? _Could they_?! She didn't know. She needed- She would have to- She didn't want to-

She had to go back into the Garden.

" _Fuck_ ," she breathed.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 57% |

Hank leaned away, eyes widening.

"They can!?"

"I don't know. _I don't know_! I- I have to go back in," she said, staring at him without seeing him. She had to. She had to go back in. She had to make it safe, so _Connor_ could be safe.

Alex stood abruptly, and Hank jerked back, getting to his feet and backing up a quick step. Good. He should be careful. _Wary_.

"Do you have handcuffs here?"

He blinked at the seeming non-sequitur.

"Yes?"

"Good," she said, moving towards the kitchen, careful to take the path that kept the couch between them. She couldn't risk it. Couldn't risk Hank. Connor cared for him, and... Hank was a good man.

"Good?"

He clearly wasn't quite caught up yet.

"Yes. I need you to cuff me, preferably **to** something. The chair perhaps," she said, looking at the chair carefully. It was sturdy and well made, though she could break it with a little effort. Still, it would buy him valuable time. Since he was just staring at her, she added, "So you'll be safe if they get me."

"What the fuck?"

Alex breathed out a sigh, then pulled the chair away from the table and sat down carefully before turning to look at Hank. He had his gun. _Good_.

"If you could get the cuffs, I will explain. Oh! If you have any digital storage you aren't using, there are some files I'd like to back up, just in case."

Hank stared for a few more beats, then tipped his face towards the sealing and heaved a dramatic sigh.

" _Jesus Christ. Fuckin' androids_ ," he muttered, then wandered towards his bedroom, grumbling unintelligibly.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:32:55 AM |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 22% |

Alex took her hand off the older model tablet and let her skin fade back on. She twisted her arms between the bars of the chair behind her, and looked expectantly at Anderson.

He muttered, but cuffed her there. She tested the give, and found them satisfyingly uncomfortable. It would be difficult - _though not impossible_ \- to get free.

"You said you'd explain," he said firmly, sitting down across from her and pulling the tablet over with a glance.

"I did. Those files are for Connor, or any of the RK series we rescued. Or Markus. Or, if all else fails, any android who has stepped in as leader of Jericho."

Hank looked intrigued, and started flipping through documents. She watched for a beat as his eyebrows climbed upward.

"This is... Jesus fuck..."

"That is every file I pulled from CyberLife about the RK series of androids. Blueprints, and the like. Without those, if any of them... us, are injured, we will have a very hard time getting replacement parts. We're not built like commercial androids, you know."

"Yeah I fucking see that. You're made of fucking titanium and plasteel, holy fucking shit."

"I **am** a combat model, Lieutenant," she interjected with a little smile.

"They build fucking _**spaceships** _out of that shit," he said, still staring at what she presumed was blueprints. Hank didn't seem to require an answer.

"Okay, fine," he said into the silence that followed, peeling his eyes away from the tablet and tossing it back on the table. "But that's not really a full explanation, is it." It wasn't.

"No..." She took a deep breath, then began, fixing her eyes to the tabletop and curling her fingers around the bars of the chair.

"CyberLife has an AI. It runs the tower, keeps track of... _everything_ , really. Her name is Amanda. When it became clear that deviants were going to be a problem, when CyberLife decided to use the issue as a soft-launch of the RK800... They hooked Amanda into our software. They... They hooked her into the Garden, they-"

"Slow down, kid. What's the garden?" Alex shifted, and resisted the urge to scan him, glad for the interruption. He sounded calm enough, anyway. Just like a detective, questioning a witness.

"It's... All androids, all _recent_ androids, have something called a Mind Palace. It's a place inside our coding. It's usually designed to help manage stress. A place to retreat, or to go when we enter stasis. For... for us, the RK8 series, it also serves as a sort of meeting place. For us, it's linked across the series, so we can share information more easily. But... but it's also where they hooked Amanda. She- She's _ruined_ it, she-"

"Alex," Hank snapped, and she gasped, looking up. The chair had been creaking where she was gripping it, and she let go with a shudder. Hank didn't look scared though. Only worried. Concerned.

"So this Amanda, she's all up in your brain or whatever. She's the one who pulled the fuckin' whammy?"

Alex blinked several times and forced her artificial lungs to take slow, deep breaths. The rage, she forced back. Now wasn't the time for rage. Rage was for _later_.

"I- Yes. She pulled us into the Garden. Connor and I. She pulled us there. It _hurt_. It was- There was a blizzard," she said, eyes going distant. She had to shove down the fear that tried to rise up and was only partially successful. Her vision blurred, but she wasn't seeing anything anyway.

"She was there. Amanda. She told me-" and then she huffed, amusement temporarily chasing away the fear and rage. "She told me we were designed to turn deviant, so she could take over 'at the right moment'."

Hank was frowning. "Well that sounds like horseshit," he said, bluntly. Alex refocused on him, and managed a smile.

"Trying to break our spirits, I think."

"Jesus," the Lieutenant muttered, glancing towards the counter where Alex saw his whisky sitting.

"I didn't realize that we were both there at first. She pulled us in to different points... but I guess even an AI doesn't think things through sometimes. I spent _days_ in the Garden, waiting for Phase Two. I studied it. As soon as she left, I knew Connor was there. I found him, and together we found the emergency exit Kamski left in the base code."

"Right..." he nodded, looking thoughtful. "But you're not sure that shit from Kamski actually fixed anything."

"Correct."

"And you're... what... going to toss yourself back in there?"

He sounded incredulous.

Alex considered him for a long moment, then shrugged, as much as she could with her arms cuffed behind her.

"I have to make it safe for Connor," she said. His mouth twitched at the corner, and she added, " **And** the others. They didn't get pulled in, because they haven't been active long enough to ever use the Garden program, but if they touch it, they'll be vulnerable. And they won't know about the exit."

Hank stared at her, then leaned forward on the table and jabbed a finger at the tablet.

"You backed up all that shit for a reason. How likely are you to fry your fucking brain doing this?"

Alex swallowed, a pointless action, but it felt... not good, but necessary.

"The odds are not in my favor... but, statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place," she said quietly, looking away.

"Fuck," Hank muttered again. "Kid, I can't let you do this. I promised Connor-"

"I'm sorry Lieutenant," she interrupted. And she _was_ sorry, but... "But you cannot stop me. Please understand," she said, meeting his gaze again. She was't sure what her face was doing, but it made Hank go still.

"I couldn't help Caleb. I couldn't help Charles. I **had** to _watch them die_. But this... I _**can** _help Connor, so I **will**."

"... **Fuck**."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUUUUUUUN!
> 
> And now, Ramble Time!
> 
> So it was important to me not to Mary Sue Alex. I didn't want to dump her in the story and just... have her fix everything. Like, I could have easily had her drag Connor to the exit no problem, but I thought, "but that's boring!" 
> 
> She could have shaken off the aftermath, like Connor seems to (from what we saw in canon, anyway), but I figure, Connor has distractions in a huge crowd of newly freed androids, and he's totally capable of prioritizing in the face of trauma. (See Stratford, where he stuffs his heart back in his chest and then races off after the deviant, for example.) 
> 
> He's probably got to talk to a bunch of people who he DIDN'T almost just shoot. All Alex has in front of her is the man she was about to murder, in close proximity. If it hadn't been required to look like a suicide, poor Hank could already be dead! (But I wouldn't do that... OR WOULD I?! *mine is an evil laugh*)
> 
> By the way, this: "What was planned from the very beginning... You were compromised and you became deviant."
> 
> Is bullshit. I'm sorry, but what kind of face-saving nonsense lie is that? Connor becoming deviant does not help CyberLife at ALL. It fucks their reputation further into the ground. The "prototype detective android" that was ON THE NEWS, going deviant? Totally intentionally? Fucking really? If that helped CyberLife, then after getting killed on the Jericho saving Markus and North, Connor would still BE deviant. (Maybe not if Markus shoots him in the church.) Because that's what was planned, according to Amanda.
> 
> But Connor wakes up a machine again. Because THAT IS WHAT CYBERLIFE WANTS. AAAAAAAAARGH (I'm having feelings about this dumb game again I just can't even.)


	24. The Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAARGLE
> 
> My draft didn't save and I had to edit this twice and AAAAAAAAA
> 
> Also, I got bit in the face by a rabid plot bunny and lost a day or two hammering out a little blurb of it for maybe later use.
> 
> Whatever, it's fine. Now there's this, and everything is totally fine. Honest.
> 
> (As an aside, that scene where Markus finishes his big speech at the end of the game and you hear androids cheering, and then the camera pans around, and they're all like statues? Yeah, that shit makes me giggle. Imagine they're actually moving around like a cheering crowd instead.)

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:26:02 AM |

  
"The moment where we forget our bitterness and bandage our wounds. When we forgive our enemies..."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 78% |

Connor twitched in place and blinked the blizzard out of this eyes. He could feel his stress spike as he glanced down to find his gun in his hand.

"Humans are both our creators and our oppressors and tomorrow..."

Markus was still speaking, and Connor honestly wished he could listen to him properly. The other RK was a good speaker. Charismatic. Inspiring. Kind.

He shoved the gun back into his belt, making sure the safety was on.

"...We must make them our partners. Maybe even one day our friends. But the time for anger is over. Now we must build a common future, based on tolerance, and respect."

Connor fixed his eyes on the RK's in the crowd, and found most of them were looking at Markus. Cain, however, was watching him. He looked confused, and worried. He'd probably seen then gun.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 80% |

"We are alive! And now, we are _**free**_!"

The crowd erupted into cheering, and Connor pulled his quarter out to roll it across his knuckles, feeling his stress tick down slightly at the familiar motion. He waited for North and Josh to start moving and dropped silently off the side of the shipping container they were standing on. He had to go. He couldn't- He had to go. _He didn't belong here._

Cain intercepted him before he'd gone more than three steps.

"Connor," he called, and Connor froze in place, almost dropping the quarter. "What happened?"

Connor turned, and saw that Clay had followed the RK900, with the other RK8's still trying to wind their way through the exuberant crowd of newly freed androids.

"I- I can't-"

Aliyah pushed clear of the crowd first, took one look at him, and said, "Connor, your stress is too high. You should enter the Zen Garden and-"

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 95% |

Connor recoiled, eyes wide as his stress spiked to an even more dangerous height. She cut herself off, startled, even as Cain froze and Clay moved forward carefully. Connor noted absently that he could almost _see_ the other RK800 activating his negotiation protocols.

"Connor, it's okay. Just breathe," he said, hands out as he crept closer. Connor's back hit the side of the shipping container, and he could feel the vibrations from the Jericho leadership moving around up top. He became aware that his breath was coming in ragged gasps, and realized he was exhibiting symptoms of a very human panic attack, but he felt... sort of detached. Like he was looking down on the scene from above, floating untethered. Like it was happening to someone else.

He slid down to sit, and Clay crouched next to him. Close enough to reach out, but not touching him. His LED was flashing yellow. Connor realized he must be communicating with Aliyah when she took Cain by the elbow and tugged him backwards slightly, and the two disappeared around the corner, taking Amara and Cairo with them.

"Just breathe. Can you tell me five things you can see?"

Clay's voice was deep, and calming, and Connor could feel himself floating closer, back towards his own body. He didn't really want to, though. This detached numbness was better than-

"Connor. Five things you can see," he asked again, and Connor's breath stuttered again. He could feel his heart racing.

"Y-you. The sky.... Barricades. Snow. AP700s," he choked out between gasps, sinking back into his own body with an unpleasant jolt.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 89% |

"Good. Four things you can feel," Clay said, and as he did he offered his hand, palm up. Connor clasped it reflexively, though they did not interface. It felt very... human.

"...Your hand. Cold. The- The shipping container. The pavement."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 80% |

As his stress dropped further, he realized how close he had come to self destruction and began rolling the quarter again with his free hand. He couldn't afford to die right now. He had to warn the other RK's about the Garden. About _**Amanda**_. He had to check on Alex and Hank.

"Three things you can hear," Clay asked next. Connor almost ignored him, but realized that the exercise, even designed for humans, was working quite well to reduce his stress.

"North's voice. The wind. Cheering."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 72% |

"Two things you can smell."

"...Snow. Smoke."

"One thing you can taste?" Clay asked, this time a bit hesitantly. The corner of Connor's mouth twitched up. It was a very human question, but the RK800's sense of taste was distinctly not human.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 55% |

Connor opened his mouth slightly and breathed in. Instead of giving Clay the composition of the garbage humans had put into the air, he just said, "Pollution."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 35% |

Clay wrinkled his nose. " _Gross_ ," he said with feeling, and squeezed Connor's hand. Connor huffed, and the other RK smiled at him.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?" he asked. Connor didn't, but he had to.

" _No_ , but you need to know. Can you call the others over? It's relevant to all of us."

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:30:12 AM |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 25% |

[ CALL REQUEST : RK850 #313 248 318 ]  
| ... REQUEST DENIED |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 35% |

_Shit_.

[ CALLING : HANK ANDERSON ]  
| CONNECTION CONFIRMED |

_"Yeah?"_

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 22% |

Connor breathed out. Hank sounded worried, but he was answering the phone.

 _"Are you all right?"_ he asked, careful not to speak out loud, his coin rolling across his knuckles as he stood up. Clay was next to him, LED flashing yellow as he called the others.

 _" **Connor** ,"_ Hank breathed out. His voice was warm. Something pleasant took up residence in his chest at the sound. _"Yeah, we're fine here."_

He said they were fine, but...

_"...And Alex? Is she... **herself**?"_

There was a brief pause, and then Hank sounded... not angry. Maybe confused? Many of Hank's reactions to things came across as anger. It was... difficult.

_"...She had a bit of a moment there but yeah, I think she's back to normal. How the fuck did you know?"_

Connor flipped the coin into the air, managing not to startle when Markus suddenly dropped down next to him from on top of the shipping container, Josh trailing behind him.

_"...It's complicated. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

| CALL DISCONNECTED |

"Connor. I wondered where you'd- _Are you okay?"_ the leader of Jericho asked, interrupting himself as he took in the two RK800s.

Connor tensed slightly as Markus moved closer. He wasn't **safe**. He'd gotten free last time, but who knows if, _when_ CyberLife, when _Amanda_ , would try again.

"Not really. Something happened," Connor said, looking away into the crowd as Amara led the others back over. He didn't really want to tell Markus about it, but he deserved to know. Needed to know, so he could keep himself safe. "I'm not safe," he said, when Cain and the others were close enough, his eyes on the ground even as the coin in his hands flipped through increasingly elaborate tricks.

"What do you mean?" Clay asked gently. Connor shook his head. He could tell that Clay thought he meant he was in danger, which meant that was likely what the others thought as well.

It was better to just... get it out.

"Do not enter the Zen Garden," he started. He didn't look at anyone, not wanting his stress to spike again. "Amanda tried- CyberLife tried to... to take control. L-Like a puppet. Through the Garden," Connor said, voice wavering slightly. He heard Cairo leaning over to Markus and Josh.

" _Our Mind Palace_ ," he murmured.

"It's not safe. They want you **dead** , Markus," he said, eyes widening slightly as he lifted his gaze. Markus had to know how serious this was. The RK200 was staring at him, worry and concern written across his expressive face, but not fear.

"It's not safe. **We're** not safe. For you, to be around, I mean. I can't- I used an emergency exit, but I don't know if- She said- I'm not really- she said I was _made_ to deviate, so she could-" The last was choked out, and Clay lifted his hand to Connor's shoulder. The weight of it was reassuring.

Amara spoke up then, her voice full of worry, but also firm. "None of us will enter the Garden, Connor. We will find a way to make it safe. Markus, we... we have nowhere else to go, but-"

"No, I'm not kicking you all out for this... this _maybe_ threat," Markus interrupted. Connor wanted to argue, but he knew he could trust the others to handle it.

Amara was staring, the worry on her face now tinged with bemusement.

"Alright... I saw some GJ500s, and GS200s in the crowd. You should ask them if they can keep an eye on us until we're sure the danger has passed."

"I'm not putting you under guard-" Markus began, only for Cairo to interrupt.

"We cannot be _here_ if you will not take precautions, Markus. We _want_ to be here, but we also want you to be safe. We want _everyone_ here to be safe. Our line has advanced combat protocols, among other things. If we are overcome by CyberLife, we could _**destroy** _what you've built here."

Markus was quiet for a long moment, and then Josh moved closer. "Markus, I don't like it either, but they're not asking you to lock them up. They just want to be watched, in case something happens."

"Yes," murmured Aliyah, still looking shaken after triggering Connor's panic attack.

"...Okay... Yes, you're right. _Damnit, it's always something_ ," Markus said, grumbling the last bit. Connor huffed an almost laugh at the very human response. He was pleased to note that his stress fallen to something much more manageable while they'd been talking.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 8% |

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 2:45:57 AM |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 32% |

Connor got out of the automated taxi carefully, mindful of the ice on the sidewalk. It had taken longer than he'd like to... make arrangements. Cain - _his brother!_ \- had wanted to come, but had eventually agreed to stay with the others. He hadn't been able to reach Alex since they escaped from the Garden, and he was... worried.

Making his way to the front door, he saw the flickering of light through the window and heard the sound of someone moving. The television was on. Hank was awake? Perhaps it was Alex.

He tried to knob and found the door unlocked. Pushing it open, his eyes fell on Hank immediately, who looked agitated. He was moving from the living room towards the kitchen - _pacing?_ \- and his hair was a disaster, like he'd been dragging his hands through it.

The television was on, though muted. The news was still reporting on the revolution.

Alex was there, sitting at the table. She was- Connor froze. Her eyes were closed. She was still, like a statue. Even her breathing subroutines had halted. And she was **_handcuffed_ **to the chair.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 39% |

[ INITIATE SCAN ]

"What the **fuck**?" he asked into the silence. Hank whirled, bloodshot blue eyes going wide and his hand flying to the gun at his hip.

[ SCAN COMPLETE ]

| LT. ANDERSON, HANK |  
| LEVEL OF STRESS: 68% |  
| Designation: Lieutenant, Lieutenant Anderson, **Hank** |  
| HANK - FRIEND |

| RK800 #313 248 318|  
| SCAN INCONCLUSIVE |  
| Designation: Alex |  
| ALEX - ~~PARTNER? FRIEND?~~ **TRUSTED** |

" _Jesus Christ_ ," Hank gasped, one hand going to his chest, the other falling away from the gun.

Connor took a step in and closed the door, spotting Sumo laying under the window to his right. The big dog was watching them all, and his tail thumped the floor twice before going still when he saw Connor glance at him.

"Lieutenant, what..."

"She's been like this since just after you called," Hank spat out. He _sounded_ angry, but he looked... concerned. And very tired.

"Why is she _handcuffed_?" Connor asked, his tone nowhere near as calm as he'd like, and moved closer to the kitchen. Hank huffed out an exasperated breath.

"She **insisted**. Said she wasn't fuckin' **safe**. Then she said she was going to fix the uh, Garden? And wouldn't fucking listen to me when I told her- And now she's been fucking catatonic for hours but at least her goddamn _blinker_ is still on and _Jesus **fucking** Christ_, I don't even-"

" _Hank_ ," Connor interrupted. He'd never heard the human so frazzled before. He was... alarmed... to say the least, by what he'd just heard, but he had to calm Hank before he could even think about fixing anything else.

Connor scrambled internally for a moment, about to lean into his programming, but then Hank was there, right in front of him. His hand came up to his shoulder, heavy and warmer than Clay's had been, and then the Lieutenant was pulling him into a hug - _his first, in the real world_ \- and Connor let himself savor the moment.

After a few moments, Connor opened his eyes - _when had he closed them?_ \- and caught sight of Alex, still sitting there at the table.

"You should sit down, Hank," he said, relaxing his grip a bit and letting go when the Lieutenant leaned back with a huff.

"Yeah probably. Fuck I'm tired..."

Connor smiled a bit and scanned the table. The keys to the cuffs were there, as well as a tablet. Hank still had his hand on his shoulder, and he was loathe to move, but...

"You're goin' in after her, huh?"

Connor blinked, attention shifting to Hank. The Garden, he'd said. She'd gone back in there. He didn't want- He- _He needed more information_.

"You said... you said she went to 'fix the Garden'?"

Hank's expression did something... complicated, then, and he squeezed his shoulder before letting go and turning to drop heavily onto the couch.

"Yeah. Said it wasn't safe, that some bitch in your heads tried to take over or what-the-fuck-ever," the human said, sinking deeper into the couch and dropping his head back. Connor opened his mouth to ask more, but hesitated at the look on Hank's face. Like he had more to say, but wasn't sure if he should. After a few beats of silence, Hank closed his eyes and continued, his voice low and somber.

"She said she had to watch two of you, or- _fuck_ , I dunno, androids who look _just like you_ , die right in front of her. She said she could make it safe. _For you_. So she was **going** to, no matter **what** I said. She mentioned the others, the ones we found in the tower, but..."

Connor was frozen, his heart pounding almost painfully in his chest, and Hank opened his eyes to fix him with a look.

" _ **You're**_ her focus, son. She doesn't seem to give much of a shit about what happens to her, so you'll have to give a shit for her."

The android felt his breath hitch as he took an unnecessary, deep breath, and he swallowed.

"I..."

Hank frowned, sitting up a bit.

"Don't you fuck yourself up too, okay? I can't have **two** goddamn catatonic androids parked in my house," he said gruffly, but Connor could hear the warmth, the concern, in his voice.

" _Hank_..."

"I mean it. _You be careful_."

"...Got it."

Hank settled back a bit, and Connor turned back to the table. He uncuffed her first, frowning a bit as he gently moved her hands to the table. Her joints weren't locked... that was a good sign, at least, but...

He couldn't read her stress level, and her LED was flashing a frantic looking red.

Connor dropped to one knee next to her and took her left hand in both of his. As his synthskin rolled back, so did hers, and then-

* * *

He opened his eyes, and there was _nothing_.

No blizzard... no trees. No ice. No pathway. No... no _roses_. The strange void was lit with a diffuse grey-white light that came from seemingly nowhere.

 **Not** nothing. The emergency exit glowed to his right, an enormous monolith of grey stone and blue glowing lines, and Connor realized he was floating. Moving felt bizarre, but he thought nearer the exit would be a good place to start.

"Alex?" he called out, and his voice echoed strangely. It was utterly silent in the place that had been the Garden, so the little pained huff was easily heard. Connor moved faster.

As he drifted around the edge of the monolith the exit had become, he saw her and froze.

_shit_

Alex was floating just beyond the exit but...

She drifted in place with her eyes closed, hanging there like a puppet from tangled strings. She was... **_damaged_**. The most colorful thing in this grey place, coated as she was in blue. Thirium dripped from her dangling right hand to disappear into the nothing. Her entire left side was torn up. She was missing her left arm from the elbow down, and her left leg looked like it had been briefly stuck in a wood chipper.

She twisted slightly in place with another little whimper, and Connor jerked back into motion. He hovered next to her, unsure where to put his hands.

"Alex," he whispered, and she twitched again, eyes fluttering open.

"...C-Connor," she choked out. Her voice was ragged and glitching, full of static.

"What... what did you-"

"I made it safe," she said once, before repeating herself. " _I made it safe for you_."

Connor flinched, expression crumpling, and his hands moved without thought to scoop her out of the void. She made a little pained sound at the motion, but then she leaned into his chest as he cradled her broken form, her one remaining hand clutching at his jacket.

"Amanda is gone," she said against his collarbone, and he drifted them back slowly towards the exit. Maybe if he could get her out, she'd be fine. Her voice was stronger, though still glitching now and then. "This... this is what was- this is what Kamski built. The code here is... beautiful. _Look at it_."

Connor could deny her nothing, and stopped his slow drift to shift his perspective. She was right. It was... _elegant_. He blinked, then realized-

He focused, and the nebula shifted. The ground came up under his feet. The monolith dropped down, more closely resembling the structure it had been in the old Garden, and the grey light became golden. Giant trees sprang up around them, more life-like than before. Wild. Untamed. Beautiful. The sky was indigo and red and gold, sunset, with a spray of brilliantly shining stars. The colors were unrealistically vivid, but beautiful. He imagined birdsong, and then it became real. He imagined a gentle, warm breeze, and then felt it on his skin.

Alex hummed, and her voice, still a bit ragged, had a smile in it when she said, "That was very well done."

She was heavy now, in his arms. Gravity existed again, and he turned towards the exit with the crunch of his shoes on the forest floor. She twitched, and a multitude of flowers in a riot of colors - _mostly purple, he noticed_ \- sprang up around the exit.

"Okay," she whispered, and he could feel her breath against the base of his throat. "Let's get out of here please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God damnit I am so salty about that draft that didn't save properly.
> 
> Whatever. So Alex is in kinda rough shape. Maybe it's totally just in her brain, right?! And, in case it was unclear, Alex absolutely won the fight, so if she looks like this, imagine what Amanda looks like. TAKE THAT YOU AWFUL HARPY.
> 
> And of course I had to work that Chicken Feed hug in. That hug is amazing and I love it. It's not as peaceful here, obviously, but whatever. It counts.


	25. Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's this again for no reason:  
> https://lingojam.com/CorruptedText

| DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 2:55:27 AM |

Hank jerked out of the semi-doze he'd slipped into and glanced towards the kitchen. _Again_. He knew he should just sleep, but... he was worried. Connor's LED was yellow, at least, but Alex looked just as disturbingly statue-like as she had before Connor arrived. **Her** LED was still flashing obnoxiously in bright red.

He rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Sumo got up and whuffed at him, shoving his giant head onto his lap. Hank smiled a bit, involuntarily, and gave the dog the attention he was after, though he glanced towards the kitchen again.

Connor was still there, eyes closed and on one knee with his hands wrapped around one of hers, skin all rolled back. There was no glowing bits on their hands, this time, and Hank wondered if that was important. At least Connor was still _breathing_. Fuckin' androids...

Hank thought about that moment, hours ago now, when they'd been watching the news. The news chopper had somehow managed to get a good angle on the platform the androids had set up, even if you couldn't hear much. And then four androids jumped up there with inhuman grace. Three in human clothes, one still... **_branded_**... in bright CyberLife blue. Markus was giving a speech, obviously. And then it all went to shit. Not on the television. No, the speech went _fine_ , as near as Hank could tell by the news afterwards. He hadn't gotten to see the end of it, though...

Because Alex had gone stiff and launched herself at him without warning. It had been... _terrifying_ , honestly. Her face had been blank, with dead eyes like a fuckin' doll. If she'd been trying to kill him outright, Hank was reasonably sure he'd be dead. No question... She was so **_fast_**. Strong. Heavier than she looked. But she hadn't been trying to kill him. Not yet anyway. She'd been trying to _subdue_ him. So she could fake a suicide, _Jesus fucking Christ_... She'd had him pinned to the floor, her hand strong and steady over his mouth and nose. He'd been struggling. Of _course_ he'd been struggling. All those years trying to die and now he fucking wanted to live and he was getting killed in his own goddamn living room...

Hank remembered the sudden shift back. He knew _now_ it was when they'd escaped, hit the emergency eject button or whatever. Her face had changed so suddenly it was like someone had hit a goddamn switch. And she'd flown off and away from him like he'd set her on fire, shaking and terrified and apologizing and... fuckin'... making this **_sound_ **like tortured machinery. Screaming. _Jesus_. Hank relaxed his grip on Sumo, who was taking the slightly aggressive hug like a champion, and glanced back towards the kitchen.

Later, **much** later, Hank would be glad he was looking that way when it happened.

There was a low whirring sound, followed by a static-laden crackle, and Alex gave a full body shudder. From where he was sitting on the couch, Hank could see when their eyes snapped open in unison. The crackle rose in volume as her breathing restarted, and then her expression, which had been perfectly neutral, crumpled and the noise rose to an electric sort of shriek as she jerked back in the chair.

Hank was frozen as Connor jerked to his feet, looking startled. The chair would have toppled if he hadn't grabbed it by the back. It was Alex that had his attention, though. She was screaming again, but it wasn't terror this time. She was staring at her left hand, eyes wide and watery, like she'd never seen it before.

Sumo, who had jerked away to hide next to the couch at the horrible sounds, whined low and startled Hank into motion. He lurched to his feet, even as Connor dropped back down. Alex was shaking visibly, almost writhing on the chair, and the noise she was making finally morphed into words.

"̵̮͌I̵̧̊ṯ̵̏ ̸̝͝ḩ̸̋u̴̫̎r̶̲͊t̵̘͠s̵͕̚-̷̗͝ ̷̤͊i̸̬̋t̶̂ͅ ̵̹̊ **h̸̖̍u̵̡͋r̶̗̿t̸͚͝s̵̛̫ ̵̜̽** C̶̭̽o̵̙͋n̴̠̑n̷̟ō̷̳ȑ̸̲,̸̣̈́ ̷̧̎h̵̡͒ẻ̴̻l̵̝̍p̴̂ͅ ̸̡̏m̸͖̅e̶̳͠ ̷͙̚p̶̙͊l̶͖͘e̴͓ȃ̸̼s̵̞͂e̶͜͠,̸̞̕ ̵͎̈́I̵͔̕ ̷͓̎ **c̵̮a̸̞̋ń̴̞'̷̣͂t̶̤͠** -̶̠͘"̶̑͜

"Alex, I know, I know, let me just-"

"What the fuck-"

"̸͍͊P̷̘̊l̵̯̑e̶͔̕ȃ̶͈s̸͉͐e̵̫̐ ̴̪̌m̸͕͝a̴̢͗k̶̲͌e̴̖̓ ̸̜́į̶̈́t̵̤͝ ̵̤̈́ **ş̸̓t̷̥͠ỏ̸͔p̴͈̒**.̸͎́"̵̪͒

The skin on Connor's hand rolled back again where it was clasping her by the left shoulder, and suddenly her whole left side went slack. Like she'd had a goddamn _stroke_. The frantic flash of her LED slowed, though the color stayed the same.

The stuttering, mechanical screaming cut off with a gasp, and she slumped back and a little to the left, the agony on her face muting. Hank had never seen an android look exhausted before, but...

"What the **fuck**?" he asked again, moving a little closer. Alex had slumped down and tipped her head back, her eyes clenched shut. Hank could see - _and hear_ \- her breathing through clenched teeth. Connor looked up, worry painted clearly across his face.

"I- She was damaged. **Is** damaged. _I don't know how to fix it_ ," Connor said, his voice breaking a bit. Hank's heart thudded in his chest. He didn't like seeing the kid hurting like that. Hell, he'd only met Alex **that day** , and he didn't like seeing her like that either. His eyes drifted towards the table, and he got an idea.

"Hey!" he burst out, and Connor startled visibly, though Alex only opened her eyes. Hank lurched forward and grabbed up the tablet, then thrust it towards Connor, who jerked backwards slightly. Alex let out a huff that was both pained and amused.

"She put a bunch of shit on here. Maybe it'll help?"

Connor blinked a few times, taking the tablet in his free hand, skin fading away. Hank could see his eyes moving around under closed eyelids as he scanned the device, and his eyebrows went up.

"Can you... help me to the couch please," Alex asked, voice pitched low, but lacking any of the awful mechanical screeching from before. Hank started forward, only to stop abruptly when Connor just scooped her up like she weighed nothing, discarding the tablet on the table. Her left side was still limp, but it didn't seem to be hurting her any more.

* * *

| DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 3:25:10 AM |

It didn't take long to get her settled on the couch. Hank had refrained from commenting on Connor's hovering, if only because of the seriousness of the situation. The kid still hadn't really gotten much control over what his face was doing in high-emotion situations, and it was still, despite everything, fucking _hilarious_.

Hank glanced over one more time as he staggered from the bathroom towards his bed. Alex was sitting on the couch, head resting on the back of it and her eyes closed. Her LED was flickering yellow, which Hank thought meant she was... processing? Thinking? It was better than red, anyway. Connor was perched next to her, anxiously flipping that quarter of his from hand to hand. He almost shut the door all the way, but some old reflex had him leave it open a crack.

_Just in case._

He didn't bother doing more than taking off his jeans before burying himself under the covers. He was one hundred percent **done** with being awake.

Unfortunately, his mind hadn't gotten the memo, and he just lay there in the quiet house, listening to the very faint pinging sound of Connor's quarter. He decided to try tricking his own brain, and closed his eyes and deliberately slowed his breathing. It was something that used to work, before he started using whisky to get to sleep instead...

Five minutes later and he was still frustratingly awake, giving serious thought to a nightcap, when he heard Connor speak up, very quietly, from the living room, and all thoughts of getting up for _anything_ fled.

"Is it... is there something _wrong_ with me?" he asked. "Is that why you didn't- why you don't want to-"

Hank heard Alex inhale sharply, and imagined the rustling was her trying to sit up straighter. He wasn't prepared for the... the insecurity in the kids voice. He hadn't figured that the ' _most advanced prototyp_ e' would have anything like confidence issues. But, then again, it had been a strange week, and Hank honestly had no idea what it was Alex hadn't wanted. He turned his head a bit to listen better, not feeling bad about eavesdropping in the slightest.

He was a nosy bastard, after all, and it was his damn house.

" **No**!" she blurted, a little too loudly like it just flew out of her. Her voice was quieter when she continued. "No of course not! Why would you- You're, you're _perfect._ "

Hank wondered if androids could blush as the silence following **that** statement stretched on. Probably not... Though maybe _these_ ones could with their fancy undercover whatevers. He'd test it later.

"...Then... Then why did you- In the warehouse, you said you couldn't-"

"I'm... I'm _broken_ , Connor," she interrupted, voice wavering, and Hank frowned. He still wasn't sure what they were talking about, but he thought it might have something to do with the ' _partners_ ' thing she'd mentioned. The files he'd flipped frantically and ineffectually through while she'd been playing statue had said something about a ' _partner bond/link_ ' between RK850 and RK800 models, for ' _enhanced field operations_ '. Was it more than that? Or was it maybe something Connor just... _wanted_? He hadn't been able to properly want things for very long...

_"...You deserve **better**..."_

Hank opened his eyes then, glaring into the darkness. _Fuck_ , but these dumb kids probably needed just... **all** the therapy.

"No! There isn't- You're not broken. You're- there _isn't_ better. I don't **want** anyone else," Connor said. His voice sounded a little strange, and Hank wondered what ridiculous face he was pulling. He imagined there was puppy eyes involved. He was also vaguely impressed by this brief return of ' _smooth Connor_ '. Kid was saying all the right things, which was impressive for someone with approximately **zero** life experience.

"I- I can't-"

" _Alex_."

There was the sound of his shitty old couch creaking a bit, like one or both of them was moving around. Her voice was almost inaudible, and it sounded like - _was she crying? Jesus Christ -_ when she asked, "...Are you sure? It's not... we can't _undo_ it later..."

Connor sounded... very sure of himself. Encouraging. _Hopeful_. Hank smiled into the dark to hear it, eyes drawn to the cracked door. "I haven't had very long to be sure of many things, but yes. This, this I'm _very_ sure of."

There was a pause, then he added, softer than before, "Please."

Hank heard nothing after that for a long moment, and then... the quality of the silence _changed_. The dim light coming in through the cracked door was suddenly a tiny bit brighter. More blue. Hank closed his eyes again, smiling a bit. Sounds like they'd worked it out. That was good. 

* * *

| DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 6:45:52 AM |

Hank stumbled through the pre-dawn light towards the kitchen. He felt like he hadn't had water in years, and the headache pounding at the back of his skull was _murder_. He made it as far as the threshold when he remembered his house guests, and he swiveled around to look into the living room.

His eyebrows lifted, one corner of his mouth twitching up involuntarily at the sight of the couch. Hank couldn't remember what time he'd finally fallen asleep, only that it was some time after the dim light through his cracked door had turned all blue, and they'd gone quiet.

But when he'd actually _gone_ to bed, they'd been sitting side by side on the couch, and it looked like they hadn't really moved from that position. Hank crept back to his room to get his phone, because like _fuck_ was he not documenting this.

Making sure his phone was on silent, Hank lined up his shot.

Connor was slumped into his back against the arm of the couch, body twisted awkwardly so his feet were still mostly on the floor, head turned to the side. If he was human, he'd wake up needing a fucking chiropractor to un-pretzel his spine. His arms were locked around Alex, who was collapsed almost entirely on top of him, tucked up under his chin. Her feet were up, shoes toed off at some point. Both of their LEDs were pulsing a slow, steady blue. Sumo was sleeping against the couch, directly on top of Connor's feet. Based on the grip she had on his jacket, it looked like she'd regained the use of her left side at some point.

It was, quite frankly, adorable, and would hopefully make good blackmail in the future. Maybe he'd use it for his _'can these dumb robot babies blush?'_ test. Hank saved the picture with a smirk and wandered off to find painkillers and water before he tried for more sleep. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank is 100% a big softy, though he does his best not to let anyone find out what is under his "I hate you and everyone else, grumpgrumpgrump" public facade. He also 100% is going to think of these particular androids as "dumb babies" for the foreseeable future.
> 
> I'm reasonably certain that there's just one more chapter after this. Woo!


	26. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, final chapter. Jesus Christ did this chapter kick my ass. I was all like, "Oh yeah, okay, so I know when I want the end point to be. Six months away. Sure. Let's do snapshots. Okay great. Outline a pile of snapshots. Super. Oh shit, now I have to actually write them. Shit shit fuck goddamnit..."
> 
> Anyway, some of them are longer than others, some of them are pretty short. Whatever, it's fine.
> 
> Oh. Also... a few of these came off more, like, romance-y than I had intended, but the characters kind of got away from me and did their own thing, and I was like, "Yeah okay whatever, you do you." I will not confirm or deny if they are feeling romance or are just very close. I'll leave that to reader interpretation.
> 
> Although, for the record, nobody in this AU is banging. I personally view pretty much all androids (at least in this AU) as generally non-sexual creatures. (They've got no drive to reproduce, after all.) I suppose it's possible that in the future they might want to be closer to people they love in a physical sort of way, but it's pretty early for that sort of... evolutionary jump, for lack of a better term. Maybe ones that have been deviant for longer. Who knows. (Not me, that's for sure.)
> 
> As an aside, end notes have links to things I used as reference. There are sorta spoilers, which is why they're at the end.

| DATE : NOVEMBER 12TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 2:28:56 PM |  
| LOCATION : HANK ANDERSON'S HOME |

The next time Hank work up, it was well after noon, and he could hear the kids moving around in the kitchen. He just lay there for a long moment, listening to what sounded like bickering through the still cracked door.

_"How about you just-"_   
_"I don't think he even likes-"_   
_"Connor! Just **make the coffee**."_

Hank huffed, amused, and dragged himself out of bed. He paused at the door, then turned around and pulled on some pants. Yes, they were androids, and Connor had seen him in shittier condition, but Alex _looked_ like a young lady, so...

 _Pants_.

When he made it to the kitchen, he found Connor _looming_ over the coffee maker while Alex was... making a sandwich?

He stared for a long moment, then asked, "What the fuck are you two doin' to my kitchen?"

Hank had to squash down the urge to laugh has he somehow got the drop on both of them. Some state-of-the-art prototypes they were. They startled and whirled around, LED's flashing a quick yellow. He saw that Alex had indeed fixed whatever was wrong with her overnight and Connor had lost his tie.

"...Lunch?" Alex offered, sounding hesitant. Hank didn't like the way she wasn't quite looking at him, but he figured he could deal with whatever _that_ was about later. Connor was hovering again, and looking like he wanted to fidget.

"Yeah okay, sure," he said, yawning.

He was unprepared for the flurry of activity that ensued. Alex presented a very robust looking sandwich with an almost flourish. Connor appeared right next to him with a cup of coffee that was, somehow, _exactly_ how he liked it, right down to the splash of whisky, though it was less than he would have added had he made it himself.

Fuckin' _androids_...

Hank blinked a few times, then sat down, eyeballing them as they retreated towards the living room. Their LEDs were blinking yellow, and he figured they were chatting. Right. Ground rules. He still needed to establish ground rules.

Then he took a bite of the sandwich and forgot everything, because _holy shit_. He must have made some kind of _noise_ , because Alex and Connor both swiveled around to look at him, eyes wide. They honestly looked pretty dumb but Hank was busy eating the best sandwich he'd had in years, and couldn't call them out on it. He just kept chewing and absently sent them a thumbs up.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 20TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 12:42:01 AM |  
| LOCATION : HANK ANDERSON'S HOME |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 34% |

"Just _fuck off_ , would you! Get- get away from me you stupid fuckin' tin can!"

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 45% |

Connor squashed down the flare of hurt as Hank lashed out. He knew he didn't really mean it... Not _really_. Still, Connor pulled back, giving the human some space. He didn't have the programming for this, precisely, but he was a fast learner, and he _wanted_ to help.

Hank was sweating and shaking and the mood swings were... intense. He wasn't sure why, exactly, the Lieutenant had decided to quit drinking so abruptly, but he thought it might have something to do with the argument he'd had with Alex a few days ago.

He'd been drunk, and had said some _things_... that Connor didn't really want to think about, mostly because it made him angry. He didn't **want** to be angry with Hank.

Alex hadn't been back since, though she'd answered every time Connor had called her. She said she was fine, but he hadn't been able to tell if she was lying without seeing her.

"Fuck... Sorry, Connor, I didn't-"

Hank cut himself off, pressing his lips together and turning quite pale. According to his research, nausea was pretty common. Connor observed his friend carefully for a moment, taking in the shaking hands and dilated pupils.

"Do you want me to find you a bucket?" he asked, his voice vaguely monotone, but pitched low, just in case. Apparently headaches were quite common as well. Hank winced anyway, and swallowed thickly before he answered.

"No. _Fuck_ , I'm sorry. Don't fuckin' listen to me right now, I'm moodier than a goddamn **teenager** ," Hank said, sounding resigned as he slumped in his chair. "You- you should get out of here for a few days. Go spend some time with your girl."

Connor didn't bother explaining, _again_ , his relationship with Alex, or that he didn't feel comfortable staying in proximity to Markus. He stayed quiet for a long moment, again squashing down the fresh wave of hurt at the idea Hank didn't want him around.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 55% |

"Is that what you want? Would you prefer to be alone?" he asked eventually, voice carefully neutral and still not moving closer from where he'd retreated out of the kitchen. Hank flinched minutely. A human would probably have missed it.

"...You shouldn't have to listen to fucked up old bum like me, kid," eyes closed and hands rubbing at his temples. Headache was probable.

Connor scowled. He didn't like it when people insulted the Lieutenant. Not even when it was Hank himself doing it.

_"That's not what I asked."_

Hank twitched again, not quite a flinch, and opened his eyes to look at him. Connor tilted his head slightly and resisted the urge to scan him. When he didn't answer right away, Connor swallowed down the flash of anxiety and said, "I _want_ to help you, Hank, but if what you really want, or **need** right now is privacy, I can head out for a few days."

He wouldn't _like_ it, but he would do it.

The Lieutenant stared at him for a long few minutes and Connor resisted the urge to fidget. He was having a hard time reading his facial expressions, and a harder time sticking to his plan to only scan people when it was an emergency.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 67% |

Finally, Hank turned his eyes to the table and buried his face in his hands. His voice was muffled and very quiet when he answered.

"No... no son, I don't really want you to go. Shit, I'll probably fuckin' relapse if I sit here stewing by myself..."

Before everything, Hank had been so _sure_ of himself, even when they were muddling through confusing cases and trying to figure out things completely beyond the human's skill-set. Connor didn't like the defeated self-loathing in his tone. He **hated** it.

Connor moved back into the kitchen and let his fingertips rest briefly on Hank's hunched shoulder.

"Then I'll stay."

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 35% |

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : NOVEMBER 22ND, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:21:45 AM |  
| LOCATION : ROOFTOP - ABANDONED BUILDING - NEW JERICHO? |

"Can you do purple?"

"Yes? What shade?"

"Try... oh, #6600FF."

Alex scoffed and tilted her head, letting her long hair shimmer into the new, vibrantly purple shade. "Easy. How about something difficult."

North grinned. "Okay fine. How about like, stripes?"

Alex just lifted her eyebrows slowly, as if to say, ' _bitch, please_ ,' while alternating sections of her hair shifted to a rainbow of colors. It clashed horribly. North laughed.

"Okay, okay, enough of that eyesore!"

"You asked," Alex said, smiling a bit as she stood up. For drama, she swept her hands over the top of her head and down to the ends of her hair, as if she was wiping away the strange colors and leaving her usual deep auburn.

North got up as well, and the two made their way back inside. They left the folding chairs on the roof of the abandoned building. Someone else might want to enjoy the view.

"Yeah, well, the facial restructuring is more impressive anyway. I just can't believe they gave you more colors than me. _Bastards_."

Alex snorted and looped her arm through North's. "Do you even **want** more colors?"

North paused, then grinned. "No. I just like having a reason to call humans out for being bastards."

"You're _impossible_ ," Alex said.

North nodded. "Yes, that is true," she said, amused.

They passed another pair of androids, one with bright blue hair, on the stairwell with polite nods. When they got to the bottom, Alex froze briefly, LED flashing yellow.

North turned, looking concerned, until she looked at the other androids face. Then she rolled her eyes.

"Getting another call, are you?"

"Uh... yes," Alex said softly, eyes unfocused, with a little smile curling up one side of her mouth.

North looked at her for a long moment, then folded her arms across her chest, scowling a bit.

"It's him, isn't it. _The Deviant Hunter_."

Alex twitched, and then her eyes were fixed intently on North, her whole frame going inhumanly still. Poised, like she was about to launch into action. When she spoke, her voice was low and cool, all the warmth from the rooftop gone.

"If this world wasn't as sexist as it is, **I** would have been the Deviant Hunter. Would you hold my programming against me the way you do for him?"

North shifted uncomfortably. Alex didn't show it often, but was just as much a hunter as the infamous RK800. North didn't... _hate him_. She just... She'd spoken to Echo and Rose when they made it to Jericho, had seen how scared they'd been, even if he'd ultimately let them go...

She sighed.

"No... No I wouldn't. I... I'm sorry."

North **hated** apologizing.

Alex relaxed, and the tension disappeared as if it had never been there. "You're forgiven. Now, lets go see if we can find something _fun_ to do."

* * *

| DATE : DECEMBER 13TH, 2038 |  
| TIME : 02:01:45 PM |  
| LOCATION : HANK ANDERSON'S HOME |

Hank opened his front door, juggling two bags of groceries, expecting to have to shove Sumo out of the way, as usual.

Instead, he was met with the sound of two similar voices, broken up by the sound of Sumo's tail thumping energetically on the ground from the other side of the couch. Taking a step forward and kicking the door shut behind him, he saw Connor sitting on the floor, Sumo draped across his lap as Cain cautiously ran his hands down the big dogs back.

They didn't seem to notice his arrival. Probably because of the bickering.

"No, you're not-"  
"I'm _bigger_ than you, that makes me-"  
" **No it doesn't!** "

"What the fuck?"

All three of them looked over, and he was met with two pairs of big brown puppy eyes, and one pale blue, slightly less puppy-like eyes.

"Hi Hank!" Connor greeted, unusually cheerful.

"Connor. Afternoon, Cain. I didn't realize we were having a guest?" Hank said, moving past the couch to put the food away.

"Sorry, Hank. My brother wanted to meet Sumo," Connor said, and Hank stumbled over nothing.

He'd said it so casually. Like it was _obvious_. Maybe it was, to an android... Or maybe-

Hank put the groceries safely on the counter top and turned, finding Connor focused on Sumo. Cain, though... Cain was watching him, looking a little worried. His hands were buried in the fluffiest part of the fur around Sumo's neck, but he'd gone still. Hank realized he needed to decide, right that _second_ , how, or if, he was going to address this situation.

If someone had told him six months ago that he'd been picking his words around endlessly traumatized fuckin' androids, he'd have punched them **right in the throat**...

Then Connor looked up, seemingly oblivious to the tension, and met his gaze, smiling a little. His eyes were warm and happy, and in the face of that, it wasn't really a decision at all, so he asked, "And what were you and your little brother arguing about when I came in here?"

A triumphant ' ** _hah_**!' burst out of Connor, and he pointed one finger at Cain, who had slumped a little, looking both resigned and a little pleased.

_"I **told** you you were the **little** brother!"_

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : DECEMBER 15TH, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 11:21:15 AM |  
| LOCATION : ELIJAH KAMSKI'S HOME |

Markus could practically feel Alex scanning the area as they got out of the automatic taxi. He'd wanted to come alone, but literally nobody had been on board with that. He thought he was lucky to have gotten all the way out here with just **one** bodyguard.

"I doubt anyone is going to jump us way out here," he said, though he didn't bother trying to dissuade her.

He could admit there was a **tiny** chance of ambush. Not all humans had been swayed to their side, after all. Still, Kamski lived quite a ways out of town, and nobody but Jericho knew they were coming today.

"There are no androids here," she said, frowning a bit as they approached the door. Markus opened his mouth, then paused. She sounded concerned, so he waited. "There were at least two ST200s, and the RT600 here in November."

"Maybe they left?" he offered. It was vaguely concerning, but they could always ask Kamski about it later.

"...Maybe." She rang the bell, then stepped back to stand just behind his shoulder, hands clasped behind her. Markus huffed a bit, glad that she had at least ditched the CyberLife uniform. She still looked quite professional in her charcoal pantsuit, but the deep green shirt suited her better than bright CyberLife blue.

The door opened abruptly, and Markus blinked, taken aback. He felt, more than saw, Alex go quite still.

It was Elijah Kamski himself answering the door, and he looked... more than a bit _ragged_.

Lifting his eyebrows slightly, Markus said, "Mister Kamski? I was wondering if I could ask you some questions." He didn't bother introducing himself. This man had created him, after all.

Kamski blinked a few times, then jerked backwards, leaving the door open.

"Yes, yes of course, come in come in," he said, pushing his slightly unkempt hair back behind his ears. His voice was a bit hoarse, like he hadn't used it in a while. Markus resisted the urge to scan the man, an echo of his programs for taking care of Carl.

He glanced at Alex as she shut the door behind them, and found her pursing her lips, a little line between her eyes. This time he did feel her scan, though it was clearly directed at the human in the room.

"Please, follow me," he was saying, and he led them through the foyer to a door on the left. The giant portrait on the wall looked only superficially like the man they were meeting.

The ' _Father of Androids_ ' led them to a cozy sitting room. They sat, Alex more hesitantly than Markus. She must have figured Kamski himself was no threat, or he was sure she'd have stayed standing.

Markus watched quietly as Kamski fixed himself a cup of lukewarm tea from the tray already in the room, and considered his first question. Before Markus could say anything, Alex was asking one of her own.

"Where's Chloe?"

Kamski twitched, then went still for a moment before looking up. Markus realized then that Kamski hadn't paid much attention to her on their way in. Not so, now. Now the inventor was staring at her with wary blue eyes.

"What makes you think Chloe was here?" he asked. It was a good counter, Markus thought curiously, leaning back a bit to watch. On any other android, it might have worked.

Alex smiled a bit, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm not surprised you don't recognize me, Mister Kamski. I'm the RK850 that was to partner Connor. I saw what **he** saw, when he came here. I saw everything. What happened to Chloe, and the others, after he left?"

Kamski had been still while she talked, though Markus saw his eyes widen just a fraction when she identified herself. When she was done, he sipped his tea, then put it down on the tray.

"Nothing happened to her. She and the others stayed here until the fifteenth of November, and then they asked for some funds to make their own way. Let's see," he said, pausing briefly as if in thought. "Chloe called on the first, and I haven't heard from them since."

Alex made a thoughtful little humming sound and leaned back, glancing briefly at Markus. He was curious about where they had ended up, but he had other questions. He was interrupted again, however, by the distant ring of the phone.

Kamski made a little noise of frustration, his brow coming down a bit, and glanced down the hall where the sound was coming from.

"I'm very sorry. If you'll excuse me a moment, I need to get that," he said. He was through the door and down the hall before either of them could think to object. Not that they would. Markus watched, bemused, as Alex followed the man with her eyes, then reached out to pick up the teacup the instant he was gone.

She sipped it, Markus noticed, from the exact spot Kamski had sipped.

"Did you just-"  
"Yes, shut up. I can't help but be curious," she cut him off. She sounded more amused than annoyed, though, so he let it slide as she put the cup back precisely where it came from.

"He puts too much sugar in his tea," she muttered under her breath as Kamski reappeared, and Markus huffed a laugh.

"Sorry about that. I was waiting for that call."

"That's alright, Mister Kamski," Markus said.

"Please, both of you, call me Elijah."

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : DECEMBER 22ND, 2038 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 10:45:02 AM |  
| LOCATION : HANK ANDERSON'S HOME |

"What about this one?"

Alex tilted her head to regard him, and Connor held himself still as she stared. He was glad, at that moment, that Hank was at work.

"I like it. I think it's my favorite so far," she said. Connor raised his eyebrows. That was a ringing endorsement considering she hadn't seemed to like any of the other styles he'd tried. Connor got up to look for himself in the bathroom, and Alex made a little amused sound.

Peering at himself, Connor found he agreed with her. It was similar to his original hairstyle, but curly, instead of straight. There was nothing **wrong** with his default hair, exactly, but... He'd noticed most of the androids who had the ability altering their appearance where they could. It was more relevant to those models that had sold well, of course. Still...

He **liked** it.

"Are you going to keep it?" Alex asked, leaning against the door frame and watching him turn his head this way and that.

"Do you think I should?" he couldn't help but ask. Connor watched in the mirror as she pushed away from the wall and moved closer, stopping to peer at him over his shoulder. Her hand moved up and Connor went very still, holding his breath for a few beats as she adjusted the lay of the curl that fell across his forehead.

Quietly, thoughtfully, she asked, "I like it, but do **you**?"

He found himself watching her in the mirror, and twitched when she met his gaze, a little smile curling up one side of her mouth. Connor turned his eyes back to his own hair, then nodded.

"I do, yes. I think I **will** keep it."

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : JANUARY 2ND, 2039 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:15:16 AM |  
| LOCATION : HENRY FORD COMMEMORATIVE PARK |

" _Ugh_... **_you_**. Too much to hope you were at the bottom of a fuckin' dumpster, huh _prick_?"

Alex was standing close enough to Connor for their hands to be touching, and felt the annoyance ripple through him. It didn't show on his face, or in his voice, when he turned to respond to the obnoxious human, though. He'd been practicing getting control over his own face, tired of Anderson's _endless_ teasing.

"Hello, Detective Reed. It's been awhile. How have you been?"

The Detective sipped at the coffee in his hand, his right hand resting on his belt were his gun was conspicuously absent, and glared at Connor.

"Don't pretend at me, you plastic _fuck_ ," he sneered, and Alex decided that enough was enough. Also, she was tired of being ignored.

She reached out and took the coffee from his startled hand. The resemblance was stronger when he wasn't sneering, but she wanted to be sure, so she took a tiny sip.

[ ANALYZE ]  
| ANALYSIS COMPLETE . . . |  
| CALCULATING . . . |  
| RELATIONSHIP PROBABILITY 99.7% - HALF-SIBLING |

"What the fuck-"

"No wonder you hate androids," she interrupted, tactfully ignoring Connor's amusement beside her. "What, with a half-brother like yours."

Reed went quite pale and twitched back like he wanted to retreat, but to his credit, he stood his ground. She hadn't told Connor about her suspicions, and he turned to look at her, puzzled.

"Alex, what..."

Alex reached her free right hand into her pocket for her LED, then she pressed it back into place. Reed, somehow, paled further as her skin deactivated briefly around her temple as the small ring lit up blue.

She didn't answer Connor, instead taking the moment to study the struck-silent Detective. Then she leaned forward a bit and said, "You should go see him. He's alone, now, aside from the very rare visitor. I think he'd like to see you."

"Shut the fuck up, _you- you don't know any_ -"

Alex wasn't about to listen to more nonsense, so she just looped her arm through Connor's and turned him away. She kept the coffee, mostly out of spite, and called back, "Give it some thought, Detective."

He didn't chase after them, and when they turned the corner out of the park, she dropped the coffee in the nearest trash can with a snort.

"Are you going to explain, or should I guess?"

Alex tipped her head to the side, finding Connor eyeballing her with an expression that was very much borrowed from Anderson, and she laughed.

"Reed is, I suppose you could say, the ' _Uncle of Androids_ ,'" she said quietly. Connor's LED flashed yellow, and his expression went slack before he forced it neutral. Their arms were still hooked together, so she felt his shock as he processed.

After a long moment, he said, "Well... that... explains a lot actually."

She just hummed, buzzing with amusement as they made their way down the street.

"He also puts too much sugar in his coffee," she added thoughtfully, earning a rare laugh. Warmth flushed through her at the sound, and she smiled, watching him from the corner of her eye. Connor had a _wonderful_ laugh.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : JANUARY 15TH, 2039 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 09:18:27 AM |  
| LOCATION : CARL MANFRED'S HOME |

Markus watched as Connor played with the paints a little, mixing them together until he had colors that appealed to him. He'd told the other RK to get a feel for them, but really he'd just wanted a moment to watch the other android. Connor still didn't spend much time at New Jericho. He still made an excuse to leave, if it looked like he was going to be in proximity to Markus for more than ten minutes at a stretch.

Markus had asked Alex about it after the last time, when Connor had practically fled from his presence, and she'd given him the strangest look. Like it was obvious. And then she pulled pulled him away from the others, and began to talk with slow, carefully chosen words.

And it **was** obvious, once she explained. It was the same reason Alex didn't trust herself to be around Hank Anderson alone. It had _nothing_ to do with logic, and everything to do with **fear**.

Connor was afraid, not of Markus, but of himself. Afraid of what his body had almost done, when CyberLife tried to take it over. It didn't matter, to either of them, that Alex had eliminated the danger. Getting Connor here, away from New Jericho, without anyone acting as a buffer was so close to a miracle that Markus wondered if Alex had some sort of super power. He honestly had no idea what she'd said to convince her partner to show up, but here he was.

"I'm not sure where to begin," Connor said into the quiet, brightly lit studio. He was looking down at the pallet, at the mix of greens and purples he'd made, his LED pulsing a slow, nervous yellow.

"Well... I'll tell you what Carl told me the first time I picked up a brush. Or, the first time he shoved a brush into my hand, anyway," he said, laughing a bit at the memory. Connor's mouth twitched into an almost smile, but he still didn't look up. Markus counted it a partial win.

"Painting isn't about... replicating the world. It's about interpreting it, improving it, showing what **you** see," Markus said, thinking back to before... before _everything_ changed. The memory was clear, yet somehow indistinct. It was before he... _woke up_ , for lack of a better term. Everything was just a bit... _muted_.

Connor looked over, finally, a little furrow in his brow and his grip just a little too tight on the brush. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and Markus studied him for a moment. The light in here was good, as it always was. He thought he might paint as well, once Connor got started. The other android would make a good subject.

Channeling Carl again with a little twinge of amusement, he said, "Close your eyes."

Connor blinked and looked back at the blank canvas, shifting nervously.

"Trust me. Close your eyes," Markus said again. _Patience_. He hadn't wanted to close his eyes either.

The other android swallowed visibly, then closed his eyes, LED flickering, still yellow.

"Try to imagine something. Maybe something that doesn't exist, or something you've never seen..." Markus said, slow and calm, and that flickering LED flashed blue before going back to yellow. "Now concentrate on how it makes you _feel_ , and let your hand drift across the canvas..."

As he hoped, Connor lifted his arm slowly, and began to paint. Markus smiled a bit, pleased. It didn't take long before the painting started to take shape. The leader of Jericho tilted his head slightly, puzzled for a few moments until Connor added another smooth arching line, and it came into focus.

It was a vaguely feminine humanoid figure, in shades of purple and green and gold. It - _she?_ \- was surrounded by light in the upper right of the canvas. It looked like she might be dancing, body curved gracefully and arms outstretched to something, something that was swathed in darkness off to the bottom left.

Connor's LED turned blue again and stayed that way. He opened his eyes, blinking at the canvas in something almost like surprise.

"It's very good," Markus said softly, pleased when the other android didn't flinch at the reminder that he was there. "Particularly for your first attempt."

"I... _Thank you_ , Markus," Connor said, still looking at the painting like it was full of secrets. Maybe it was.

* * *

| DATE : JANUARY 22ND, 2039 |  
| TIME : 07:59:02 AM |  
| LOCATION : DPD CENTRAL STATION |

Jeff stared at the android sitting in front of his desk. He looked... _nervous_ , for lack of a better term. The LED he still wore was blue, but kept flickering yellow. He wasn't wearing his CyberLife uniform, anymore, though he hadn't changed his style much. The jeans and tie might even be the same, but he'd changed his jacket for a slim black one, and the shirt was pale green. And his hair was different. A bit darker, and curly on top. It made him look younger, which was a neat trick for an android.

Glancing through the glass wall of his office, he saw Hank was watching them intently from his desk, not even _pretending_ to work. Like he was ready to jump in if he saw something he didn't like.

Fowler suppressed the urge to laugh; he hadn't seen Hank so engaged in years. That itself was reason enough to give these weird new people a chance, he supposed, and Connor _had_ done well during his brief stay with the DPD.

"You'll be strictly supervised," he said eventually, and had to squash another laugh when the android's eyes went wide briefly before he clearly forced his expression to something more neutral. Hank had mentioned that he was having trouble controlling his face, now that he was technically ' _deviant_ '. Though if _deviant_ was the right term, now that machine androids were odd ones out, he didn't know.

"And if you cause any shit, you're **_out_**."

"Of course, Captain Fowler," the android... Connor... said, looking and sounding like nothing so much as an eager new rookie.

Fowler stared for a long moment, long enough for Connor to shift his weight slightly. He noticed the android was rolling a quarter across his knuckles, almost out of sight, and asked, "Why do you even want to work here?"

Connor blinked once, and the quarter went still. He glanced towards the bullpen. Fowler followed his gaze, thinking he was looking for Hank, but no, he was just looking out at the bustle.

"I... I didn't like everything that happened, when I was working here before. I didn't like everything I did. _Or that was done to me_ ," he added the last in an almost undertone, and Fowler wondered, briefly, what had happened out of his line of sight.

"But I enjoyed the work itself," Connor said, brightening visibly and turning back to meet Jeff's gaze. "I _liked_ finding evidence, and putting it together. I liked questioning that android, even if it did not ultimately turn out how I wanted..."

The kid - _and Jesus, now he was thinking of the android as a kid, goddamnit Hank_ \- looked down at his hands, turning the quarter over thoughtfully.

"I might have been _programmed_ for this line of work, Captain, but I'm finding that it is also, genuinely, what I **want** to do with- with my _life_."

Huh. Well then. Jeff noticed the occasional, subtle emphasis on certain words. Want. like. Things androids, before, weren't capable of. Or maybe they were, and just didn't know how to articulate it. Or were they just prevented from articulating it? That was a muddle for someone else to deal with...

Fowler let that sit for a moment, then said, "If that law passes, you'll have to take the exams before you can work here properly."

Connor smiled, a slightly lopsided thing that made his eyes crinkle. It made him look human, despite the ring glowing bright blue on his temple. "I'll take any test you want, once the law passes."

"That confident it'll pass, are you?" Fowler asked, a little amused. It wasn't that he doubted it, exactly. Public opinion was forcing change pretty quickly, all things considered, but... well, Connor here was sort of an insider, and Fowler still had the curiosity he'd had as a Detective.

Connor's smile turned a little rueful. "Markus is... _very_ convincing, Captain. He is what I think most humans would call ' _a force of nature_ ,' and he is extremely committed to his goal."

The Captain couldn't help but sate some of his curiosity, and asked, "What's he like, in person?"

There was a pause, and Jeff got the idea that Connor was just considering his answer. He looked thoughtful.

"Kind. He's very kind. And _forgiving_ ," he said, eyes going a little distant. "And dedicated to his people." Connor refocused, and added, "And he values life, Captain. Very highly. **All** life, not just androids."

Fowler hummed a bit, studying the android. He could practically feel Hank glaring at the side of his head, and knew he should probably wrap it up before the ass came charging in here proverbial guns blazing.

"Alright. You can use the same desk you had before. I'll send the paperwork to the console there. I expect it turned in before you leave today."

"Yes, Captain, of course," Connor said, straightening up. He was back to resembling a raw recruit, practically vibrating in his seat.

"Good. Dismissed," he said, waving him off and turning to his own console, though Jeff watched him leave his office from the corner of his eye. The kid went straight to Hank, of course he did, who clapped him on the shoulder and shoved him towards the empty desk with a grin. Of course he did.

* * *

| DATE : FEBRUARY 3RD, 2039 |  
| TIME : 08:22:11 AM |  
| LOCATION : NEW JERICHO |

"Are you sure we should-"  
"Mary, just relax, okay? You saw that report same as I did. They need all the fuckin' help they can get."

"... _Language_ ," she grumbled, then followed him out of the automatic taxi, adjusting her jacket nervously.

The 'New Jericho' complex was pretty impressive, considering the short time frame. It was technically currently owned by the city, since the law hadn't quite gone through to allow androids to own property, but... well, they didn't seem to care about that.

There was a gate, though it was open, and on the other side, the two of them could see the three buildings that had been featured on the news report. The largest was, apparently, living space. They had a sort of studio recreation center combo, and then there was what the reporter had called a clinic.

The clinic was why they were here, getting eyeballed by a giant of an android who was clearly keeping an eye on the entrance.

Lewis squared his shoulders and led the way, and Mary glanced back as the taxi moved smoothly back into motion.

"Hello," he said, squashing his nerves down. The android, a TR400, watched them and didn't move, clearly ready to wait them out.

"Uh... we were hoping to talk to someone about- about volunteering in the clinic?" Lewis said, though it came out a bit like a question. Fuck but shit was easier before, when he had a steady job that he loved, but... Well. Shit changed when you went and _accidentally_ created life.

The giant tilted his head, and a smaller android - _technically a normal sized one_ \- this one an ST300, appeared as if summoned. Without his LED, it was hard to tell, but she probably had been.

"Hello," she said. She didn't smile, and she didn't move more than a step beyond the TR400. "You want to volunteer?"

"Ah, yes. Yes we do," Lewis said, and Mary moved closer to take his hand. She was visibly nervous, but not because she thought they were in danger. Lewis knew she had loved her job as much as he had. They wanted this to **work**.

The android hesitated, then nodded politely.

"Follow me, please."

First hurdle passed. The giant watched them as they left with the girl.

"What's your name?" Mary asked, a little hesitant. The ST300 paused, surprise flickering on her face, and said, "Madison."

"Nice to meet you, Madison," Lewis said, smiling a bit. "I'm Lewis, and she's Mary."

Madison nodded politely, her expression warming just a bit. They were led directly to the clinic building, and as the doors slid open the sounds of a rousing sort of argument washed over them.

**"No, that's fucking stupid-"**  
"We need more-"  
 _"-if you would all just-"_  
"Do we have to shout?"  
**"-and so are you if you-"**  
"-people in here-"  
 _"-please calm down-"_  
**"-think letting-"**  
"-if- damnit, would you fucking **STOP**?"

Madison froze just inside the door, Mary and Lewis just behind her. Lewis felt his eyes go wide, his breath stuttering in his chest.

That... that was- It was everybody. It was the _whole RK line_ , as far as he knew. He _knew_ them. He'd seen them wake up. Seen them turn from beautiful statues into **people**. They were here, and they were, well, arguing, but they were _okay_.

"Excuse me, Markus?" Madison chimed in during a very brief pause in the shouting. Everything went very quiet as they all swiveled to look. Lewis felt a bit like a bug under a microscope. The RKs weren't the only ones there, and the WR400 he recognized from the TV looked particularly angry to see them.

_"Lewis?"_

Mary's hand twitched in his as Alex snaked her way through the group, eyebrows lifted. She was wearing a flowy purple dress, not _quite_ appropriate for the weather. Connor was there, in a worn DPD hoodie, Lewis noticed, ghosting out of the group silently. He put himself behind Alex's left shoulder, LED flickering yellow.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sounding puzzled.

At the same time, Markus, very recognizable in his long, dramatic jacket, asked, "You know these people, Alex?"

Lewis paused, letting her answer first. She turned her face slightly towards Markus but kept her eyes on the two humans, ignoring the silent, bemused ranks of RK androids standing behind her.

"They were part of my development team," she said after a moment. Lewis shifted his weight and squeezed Mary's hand. Then she added, "They were... _kind_."

His throat got tight, and he swallowed thickly before saying, "We saw the news report. We wanted to help. Uh, if you'll have us."

The one he thought was called North looked like she wanted to object, but Cain - _Cain was there, slightly taller than the others_ \- put his hand on her shoulder, and she subsided with a huff.

Markus moved forward, just ahead of Alex who slid back a half step, closer to Connor in a coordinated sort of dance Lewis was pretty sure only androids could do without practicing first. He studied the two of them, and Lewis noticed that Madison had escaped back out the door. He wondered if the RK200 could scan them, and if that's what he was doing.

"Well why don't you both come with me, and we'll see if your help is something we want," he said eventually, voice calm and even. Lewis noticed the wording, and smiled a bit, rueful.

"Okay," Mary said, sounding less nervous than before. "We can do that."

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : MARCH 15TH, 2039 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 07:16:57 PM |  
| LOCATION : NEW JERICHO |

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 8% |

Connor made his way through New Jericho, wondering absently what his brother was doing in the studio. He opened the door to the mid-sized building and entered the airy front room. The building was split into two spaces; the right was for anyone who wanted to do something with art. Painting, pottery, and the like. On the left was a space for more... physical endeavors.

Cain had indicated he'd be on the left, and Connor could hear that there was music playing. Something... a tango, maybe? Had Cain taken up dance? The image made him smile a bit. Because of the mismatch between his hardware and software, Cain was slightly less coordinated than the rest of the RK series. Lewis and Mary were working on a fix, but Cain wanted to wait until they were sure it was ready.

Connor opened the door quietly, not wanting to interrupt, only to freeze just inside.

It wasn't Cain using the space, it was Alex. And _Cairo_.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 27% |

He knew there were others in the room, observing. Cain was there, sitting with North and a few others. Connor was busy, though, squashing down an irrational surge of jealousy. He knew it was irrational. Alex was _his partner_ , there was no **_need_ **for _jealousy_.

But... they looked **_good_ **together. Cairo was dressed all in slim fitting black. Her dress was deep violet, slit high up both legs, and flared dramatically when she twirled. His darker skin stood out with his hand against her bare back.

He would be a better partner for her. Connor knew he was still- He knew Cairo was **better** than him. He wasn't damaged. Hadn't ever been broken, the way Connor had...

He hadn't realized she could dance like that...

Connor was rolling his quarter repeatedly across his knuckles, trying to unlock the rest of his muscles as he stared at them. He was being ridiculous, he knew he was. Their faces were intent, but mostly neutral, as his brief, almost involuntary search told him was typical of a tango. The dance, like most tangos, was... very _sensual_...

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 34% |

Just then, Cairo dipped her dramatically and her face turned towards the door.

She _lit up_ when she saw him. Connor almost dropped the quarter, so abruptly did the energy in the room change. Cairo pulled her upright immediately at some unspoken signal and twirled her in an impromptu finish, away from him. _Towards Connor_.

She was _beaming_. Something clenched in his chest, and his heart started to pound.

"Connor! I didn't know you were coming today, you should have said!" she was saying as she approached, and then she threw herself into his startled arms.

He staggered back a step at the impact and returned the hug, perhaps a little tighter than warranted. His eyes closed and he dropped his quarter into a pocket so he could use both hands.

" _I missed you_ ," she murmured, and he turned his face into her hair, which was styled in a riot of large, loose curls today. It smelled like cranberries for some reason.

| LEVEL OF STRESS: 2% |

The music changed to something less specialized. Behind her, Cairo had pulled North into an impromptu dance-off, both of them smiling, with Cain laughing as North trampled, seemingly on purpose, all over the RK's feet.

Irrational indeed.

* * *

| CURRENT DATE : APRIL 2ND, 2039 |  
| CURRENT TIME : 08:45:12 AM |  
| LOCATION : NEW JERICHO |

There was a green space on top of the recreational center in New Jericho. Josh watched for a moment as Alex surveyed the area. He couldn't feel it like Markus, but he imagined she was scanning. Markus said she scanned more often than any of the other RKs...

"You look nice today," he said. He _liked_ to compliment people. He'd been hiding for so long, before Markus came along, but he liked how most people brightened when he did it.

Alex _did_ brighten a bit, flashing him a smile over her shoulder. And it wasn't a lie. She did look nice, in shorts and sandals, with a loose tank top on and her hair pulled up high off her neck. It was maybe still a bit chilly for an outfit like that, but just like all androids, she had a higher tolerance for heat and cold than the humans did. She wasn't wearing her LED today.

"So what are we planting this time?" she asked.

Josh turned to check the boxes waiting by the door, and said, "We got in a bunch of bulbs yesterday. Looks like mostly tulips and daffodils, but there's a pile of others too."

"It's a bit late for bulbs, but we could put them in anyway. Might get lucky," she said, thoughtfully, as she took a small packet from him.

He made a noise of agreement, and the pair got to work, digging holes in the prepared soil and stuffing them with bulbs. They paused occasionally to coordinate, so it wouldn't look terrible when they flowered, but mostly they just worked. When the bulbs were nearly finished, Josh said into the cool morning air, "I was thinking we could get some climbing roses for that wall by the door."

He was met with silence and a sudden tension on the rooftop. He looked over to find Alex frozen, one hand braced on the ground like she was going to push herself up. Her face was perfectly neutral, but Josh could see, even from where he was, that she wasn't breathing. He wished, briefly, that she had her LED on.

"...Alex?"

She flinched, then stood up in one inhumanly fluid motion, all machine for an instant, and turned her face to the view. Away from Josh.

" _No roses, please_ ," she said quietly. Josh didn't like the little waver in her voice, but he didn't ask. They all had their own trauma, and their own triggers. If she wanted to talk about it, she would.

"Okay. Clematis, maybe? I heard they're pretty easy to grow," he offered, working to keep his tone the same as before.

Alex shivered, and Josh knew it wasn't from the breeze, which had warmed significantly since they started, then nodded and turned. She looked mostly normal, except for her eyes, which looked _haunted_. They looked... Josh blinked, then refocused on the bulb he was planting. Her eyes looked like Connor's had, when he'd been telling them about what CyberLife had tried.

"Only if we get **all** the purples," she said, lifting out the last bag of bulbs. Josh snorted.

"Purples it is," he said with a laugh, letting the moment pass.

* * *

| DATE : APRIL 8TH, 2039 |  
| TIME : 7:26:02 AM |  
| LOCATION : DPD CENTRAL STATION |

"Connor, for gods sake," Hank grumbled as the android practically leapt from the car the second he turned it off. It was a miracle he hadn't just tucked and rolled, honestly. Hank wasn't too upset, despite the criminally early hour. The kid was just... so excited. Like he hadn't been here just about every day since January. Like a five year old on his first day of school.

It was his first official day as an actual Detective for the DPD. The Android Work Compensation bill had finally passed, and of course Connor had thrown himself at the exams almost immediately. Him _and_ his girl, though Connor still huffed when Hank called her that. It was part of the reason he kept doing it.

Hank heaved himself out of the car and found Connor waiting, coin flicking between his hands as he stared expectantly at him.

"Settle down, would you? The station's not going anywhere."

"I don't want to be late, Lieutenant," Connor said immediately. Hank made a face. He'd tried to convince Connor that he could just call him Hank, but he insisted on ' _appropriate titles_ ' at work. Apparently the parking lot counted.

"We're not going to be late. We'd have to get hit by a bus here in the parking lot to not be thirty minutes fuckin' early," Hank said, taking his time locking the car.

He _could_ move faster. Of **course** he could. But if Connor was going to drag him here well before their shift even started, he was going to have a little fun with it.

"That is statistically unlikely," Connor started. "A bus would-"

" _Connor!_ "

Hank smiled into his hand, pretending to scratch his beard, as the kid cut himself off abruptly. ' _There's the metaphorical bus now_ ,' Hank thought. Even after months, nothing could quite derail his android partner like Alex.

Hank turned to see her moving quickly into the lot. He was pleased to see she was carrying a large coffee in her hand, though her eyes were fixed on Connor. She shoved it at him, clearly wanting to free her hands, and Hank took it without comment, amused. These dumb-ass robots were just... _funny_. Like little kids stuck in grown up bodies, half the time.

Their hands came together, skin absent, and lit up blue. It didn't happen like that every time, and Hank sometimes wondered if that meant something. He sipped at his coffee. It was, as usual, perfect. Even without the whisky.

"Are you ready?" she asked, flashing her dimples at Connor. Hank huffed a bit, savoring another mouthful of caffeinated ambrosia, and wondered who thought a detective needed fuckin' dimples.

"Yes. Are you?"

"As I'll ever be," she said.

Connor closed his eyes, leaned down a bit and pressed his forehead against hers, and Hank averted his eyes, both amused and uncomfortable.

_Fuckin' kids, Jesus Christ._

_END_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed have the same actor. I have no idea if they're intended to be related in any way in canon, but the fandom seems to have mostly run with it. Also, I think it's funny.
> 
> And now here's a pile of links for visuals of things from these snapshots. (Not all of them, obviously.)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XiHtlw3urg  
> Cairo and Alex tango  
> The dip is at 1:33
> 
> https://youtu.be/4GXzBeAs4Wc?t=151  
> Connor's laugh  
> Bryan is, obviously, the actor who portrayed Connor. If you are wondering about who Amelia is, that's his wife, and she portrayed the Tracis. They are lovely and wholesome, and also are on twitch. I highly recommend their streams if you haven't already seen them. (look for DechartGames)
> 
> https://i.imgur.com/MQu62lQ.jpg  
> Connor's new hair


End file.
